The Coordinator of the Agrarian and Livestock Organizations (COAG) in the Region of Murcia has warned of the difficult situation of the fruit sector and has described the current campaign as "extremely hard."
Although the production volume this year was very similar to that of 2015, after two-thirds of the campaign, fruit prices remain well below production costs. A reality that has nothing to do with what the markets charge at origin and what consumers ultimately pay.
Given these conditions, the sector is barely able to keep its head above water. According to COAG, "the market is functioning without fixed prices or contracts in most cases, with abuses of power and taking advantage of the situation."
The solution, according to COAG, is to immediately include the Region in all production withdrawal mechanisms. In this sense, and once they become effective, COAG will ask all Fruit and Vegetable Producers Organizations (OPFH) to take advantage of these mechanisms in order to "prevent a disaster for the producers this campaign."
According to COAG, it is essential for the markets to be clearer and for profit margins to be more proportionally distributed. If nothing changes, the exorbitant margins applied by distribution chains could lead to the ruin of thousands of families due to the very high costs.
Source: laverdad.es
