A number of agricultural associations, such as the Andalusian and Extremadura Fruit and Vegetable Producers Association (Asociafruit), PAG Sevilla and the Andalusian Irrigation Association (Areda) have criticised the situation of potato producers in Andalusia, caused by the "permanent" entry of low quality old French potatoes, which compete against the higher quality new Spanish potatoes.
In a joint statement, Asociafruit president Marco Antonio Román, PAG Sevilla general secretary Juan Carlos Pallares and Areda representative Anibal Román recalled that this sector generates more than 18,000 jobs across Spain, with an average production of 250,000 tonnes in Andalusia, where 6,000 hectares are cultivated; "less than half than ten years earlier, when there were 15,000 hectares of potato crops in the region."
They have also recalled that "consumers need to know that the Spanish fresh potatoes retain all their nutritional and culinary properties, making them ideal for frying, with the result being a golden potato, crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. For their part, old French potatoes, which have already lost most of their nutritional and culinary attributes, as the starch is transformed into sugars, become soft in the frying process, as they absorb more oil due to having lost their properties after a long period of storage (eight months) at low temperatures (four degrees Celsius)."
"We do not understand the joint strategy of large distributors and packers, who fail to fulfil their own commitments to offer local products to consumers" when in reality what they are supplying is mostly old French potatoes," said the representatives of Asociafruit, PAG Sevilla and Areda.
In their opinion, "this already means losses for Andalusian producers amounting to more than 50 million Euro in this campaign; 50 percent of the revenue of the 2016 campaign, when the price paid to producers stood at 0.40 Euro per kilo, compared to 0.20 Euro per kilo on average this season, when production costs amount to 0.30 Euro per kilo; well above current prices," they added.
The president of Asociafruit, Marco Román, the general secretary of PAG Sevilla, Carlos Pallares and the representative of Areda, Anibal Roman, have not hesitated to describe this sale of old French potatoes as "deception" to consumers, as in the advertisements they boast of offering local products to the Spanish consumers.
"What is even more surprising is that the Central European market is the main destination for the highest quality new potatoes of Andalusia, while Spanish hypermarkets, with the indispensable support of packers, are the ones permanently responsible for boycotting the Andalusian potato production, preventing the national consumer from enjoying, as they advertise, a healthier local product of the highest quality," stated Asociafuit, Pag Sevilla and Areda.
Furthermore, they have recalled "that potatoes are among the world's most consumed food products, behind rice and wheat." Thus, they explained that "the solution to this problem would be to increase the national consumption, giving the consumer the opportunity to choose new Spanish potatoes, since in our country the average consumption of potatoes stands at 22 kilos per person, compared to the 45 kilos per person recorded in Europe."
Asociafruit, PAG Sevilla and Areda have also criticised the "passivity" of the Spanish authorities, both of the Government of Andalusia and the Government of Spain, "which continue to do practically nothing to address this situation."
"We ask ourselves who is defending our interests as producers of top-quality Spanish potatoes, and therefore, who is defending the right of consumers to have access to quality and healthy potatoes," asserted the three organizations, which will announce new measures in the coming days.
Source: lainformacion.com
