The Union of Small Farmers (UPA) in Aragon has asked for "urgent" measures to be put in place to mitigate the "unsustainable and dangerous situation" being experienced by producers in the Aragonese fruit sector, especially by sweet fruit growers, due to the price drop caused by the Russian veto.
Also, the UPA has called for the "immediate" creation of specific working groups to prevent a repeat of this situation in future campaigns, as this has already forced the EU to expand the fruit withdrawal quota by 20,000 tonnes, from the 9,775 initially set, although the sector had requested for it to reach 40,000 tonnes.
The agricultural organization UPA in Aragon took part this Monday in a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture, in Madrid, which was also attended by the rest of agricultural organizations and cooperatives in the autonomous region. The meeting served to agree on the procedures to manage the withdrawal of the 20,000 tonnes of fruit recently approved by the European Union.
At this meeting, UPA Aragón expressed its "discontent and concern" to those in charge of the sector at national level, given the delays in the implementation of palliative measures both at national and European level.
UPA Aragón stated that the current campaign is being critical for fruit growers in Aragon, who are suffering a crisis caused mainly by falling prices, which are already below production costs, overproduction and the closure of the borders with Russia.
The general secretary of UPA in Aragon, Jose Manuel Roche, said that the situation of hundreds of peach, nectarine and plum growers in the region is becoming unsustainable.
José Manuel Roche reiterated that "if no urgent measures are adopted, many Aragonese producers will be forced to abandon their farms this same campaign."
Source: Europa Press
