Mesa Nacional del Ajo warned that the garlic market appears to be "clearly grinding to a halt," with few transactions at "very low" prices. In a statement issued by Mesa, they report the results of the meeting that took place in Morata de Tajuña, Madrid, where the current situation, with prices falling by 21.84%, was analysed.
Garlic export volumes have also fallen in the first semester in the European Union and every other country, with the exception of Brazil, as well as average prices, now at 1.90 Euro per kilo for the European market, compared to the 2.50 Euro of 2011, and at 1.10 Euro for markets outside the EU, compared to last year's 1.60. Regarding imports, Mesa has also confirmed a decrease in volumes, as in France's case, main provider within the EU, which has more than halved its exports to Spain, with prices falling from 1.74 Euro in 2011 to 1.16 in 2012.
Mesa relates the current market stagnation to the decrease of domestic consumption as a result of the recession, despite there being "signs of slight recovery", once the market has absorbed the garlic from previous seasons at low prices.
It is also expected that the higher prices of Chinese garlic, "substantially higher" than those in the EU, may bring better prices. At the same meeting, Morata de Tajuña's local council announced the implementation of support measures for Spanish garlic and complained about the EU's recognition of the Chinese PGI "Jinxiang Da Suan."
Source: Cooperativas Agro-alimentarias C-LM