The general secretary of the Association of Tomato Industries (AIT) said that both agricultural production and industrial activity could be at risk if the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) goes ahead as proposed.
Miguel Cambezes fears that the cuts in funding from 2,100 Euro per hectare to just 179 Euro, planned for the new CAP, will push many growers away from tomato production, causing it to drop by 40%.
"This means that, instead of increasing production, we will enter a negative downward spiral which may lead to the extinction of this industry in Portugal," he warned during a visit to the tomato processing firm Sugalidal, in Benavente, Portugal, where the Minister of Agriculture was also present.
Miguel Cambezes said that in the past two decades, the tomato industry has grown by 5% annually on average, from which we can predict a 50% growth in the next 10 to 20 years.
The Union leader said that he is "quite pessimistic" about the proposal, but "quite optimistic" regarding Portugal's "capacity" to react, recalling the "victories" of the sector whenever they have confronted proposals from the European Commission in the past 15 years.