Something good was expected lemon campaign The situation in the province is becoming more complex than expected. Asaja Alicante warned this Wednesday: The pause detected in salesalso corresponds to: price dropped This jeopardizes the profitability of the harvest. And especially from the organization he presided over. José Vicente Andreu warn against Claim offers from some supermarkets By using this product they reduce the amounts paid to farmers.
Therefore, Asaja distributes chains from Alicante stop these offers They don’t lower the price of lemon either, because what they condemn is encouraging “unfair practices”like field sales below production cost, something currently prohibited by the Food Chain Improvement Act. So according to the organization they are currently paying Between 32 and 35 cents a poundThis figure barely covers the producers’ expenses. This is a situation where companies are also held responsible. exporters According to Asaja, these are the two representatives with the most power in the negotiation with wide distribution.
As if that wasn’t enough, the organization states: Harvest will be smaller than initially anticipated According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the reduction in fruit size (if lemons reach 65 millimeters when it is normal for lemons to be only 55 millimeters) will mean a decrease in the number of tons.
Moreover, the damage caused by weather conditions is also quite serious. “According to Agrosguro data, 31.7% of production What you give to the association we guarantee Some of the damage caused by hail hitting Vega Baja“says José Vicente Andreu, president of Asaja Alicante. To this we must add that the extreme heat of this summer creates a “gumming” effect that causes many lemons to fall from the tree. In fact, the amount of commercial lemons for fresh consumption per year will be less than 900,000 tons.
renegotiation
Looking at this panorama Asaja Alicante Advises farmers not to agree to renegotiate contracts Citrus prices are falling because “there is no objective reason to support this fact.” In this sense, it also regrets the poor functioning of the citrus price information system of the Conselleria and the Citrus Market, as they declared prices lower than the actual market prices.
In addition, manufacturers are reminded to reflect a certain percentage on their invoices. demolitionbecause when not specified, many signatories receive up to 60% of the harvest for free While they claim to be for the citrus industry, they actually sell it as second-hand fresh produce on the international market. This abuse, as defined by the organisation, does not comply with European regulations and leaves the farmer in an absolutely vulnerable position in terms of negotiation capacity and economic value.
They also regret Asaja mandarin Something similar happens. There are problems with small caliber ones, those with a diameter less than 50 millimeters, those that are not collected or those that are collected very cheaply. Specifically, only 0.65 euros per kilo and only the largest caliber.