The early garlic campaign started with high expectations from producers, but the joy didn't last for long. The sector is facing a difficult time as a result of falling prices in the Chinese market, the world's largest garlic producer of garlic worldwide and a sword of Damocles for a regional crop that is mostly produced in Cordoba. After several years of high prices in the Asian country due to consecutive bad harvests, this year's campaign has been marked by an overproduction that has led to a significant price decline. This circumstance has led Spain to lose two important buyers: Brazil and Taiwan.
The domino effect has caused local producers' prices to become cheaper and sales to slow down, pending changes in the international market. The president of Montalbán's garlic producers, Miguel del Pino, is confident that things will change in the short term, as soon as China is no longer in a hurry to sell its surplus and its prices go back to the usual levels.
There is another factor that helps producers feel safe: the quota established by the European Union (EU) for the purchase of foreign product. European countries can only acquire about 55 million kilos from China, 19 from Argentina and 6 from the rest of the world. And in Europe, according to Del Pino, more early garlic is needed in order to meet the demand of countries that massively consume this product.
Thus, the garlic stores remain full, waiting for the wind to start blowing in their favour. Meanwhile, the product sold right now is not doing so at the price expected at the start of the campaign, although for now it is not possible to estimate a percentage difference with respect to the previous one. The president of the garlic producers recalls that there is still a whole year ahead and that this is a fluctuating market.
Source: sevilla.abc.es
