The organizations representing the stonefruit sector (ASAJA, COAG, UPA, FEPEX and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias de España) have asked the Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development to request the revision of Delegated Regulation 2017/1165 of the Commission, which temporarily provides exceptional support measures to producers of certain fruits at a time when the summer fruit sector is suffering a serious market crisis.
The representatives recalled that last spring the sector assessed this Regulation, which entered into force on 1 July, and considered that the maximum withdrawal volumes established would be insufficient, and called on the Community institutions show some sensitivity and help to alleviate the impact of the closure of the Russian market on European horticultural exports.
In their letter, producers insist that the impact of the Russian veto has not been alleviated, but is still very noticeable, especially in the case of summer fruits, mostly due to the sector's exporting vocation and the very perishable character of this fruit, which limits the possibilities of it replacing a big, consolidated destination such as the Russian market with alternative destinations in third countries.
As they already did before the summer, the Spanish organizations have reiterated their request to expand "the quotas for exceptional withdrawals" offered by the aforementioned regulation, considering that the quota initially assigned to Spain for peaches and nectarines (of 9,775 MT) was clearly insufficient, compared to the volume traditionally exported to Russia before 2014.
The Spanish sector is addressing the Commission at a time when the Community market for stonefruit is saturated and in an unsustainable situation, with prices far below the level necessary to cover the production costs and problems with oversupply. The Commission has been asked for the quota for peaches and nectarines to be increased as a matter of urgency.
