Amid widespread protests by farmers and livestock producers across Spain, the minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, told reporters after a meeting tied to the Food Chain Observatory that producer prices in origin rose markedly between January 2022 and December 2023. He noted that even when inflation tied to rising costs is stripped out, the increase remained evident, peaking in October 2022. Data from the Food Chain Observatory, under the Ministry of Agriculture, support this view with a 32.03% overall rise in that period. However, looking at the most recent year shows a different trend: more than half of the origin prices analyzed in 2023 fell, with some declines surpassing 30% in certain items like lemons.
Within the period monitored by Planas, some products showed striking price jumps. For instance, the Golden Apple recorded a 303.83% increase in origin price, while lemons rose by 141.99%. In contrast, the prior year’s figures show more modest changes: the Golden Apple up 16.29% and lemons down 37.82%. Remarkably, the lemon’s drop in origin price was the second largest only behind tuna, which fell 44.18%. Carrots barely changed in 2023 (0.30%), and a dozen eggs declined by 14% year over year. It is worth noting that certain foods, such as salmon and sea bream, could not be compared due to data gaps. Likewise, widely consumed items like milk or oil lack complete figures.
On average, the origin price of the analyzed products rose 10 percentage points above the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food groups between January 2022 and December 2023 (23.50%). The pattern holds when breaking down by item. For example, pork origin prices climbed 57.45% while CPI growth reached 27.80%. The price of a dozen eggs rose 71.25% at origin, yet CPI showed a 34.80% increase. Potatoes moved in the opposite direction, increasing origin prices by 4% while CPI rose roughly 29%. Three items ended 2023 with price declines (-0.2%, -14%, -3.6%), and at the same time, origin prices rose about 4% while CPI registered an 11.7% increase.
Strengthening Inspections
Using two years of data, Planas argued that the Food Chain Law, in force since December 2021, is effective and largely responsible for higher origin prices to producers. He also emphasized the need to bolster its application through more rigorous inspections. Between 2014 and 2022, the Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Inspection Agency (AICA) conducted 6,717 formal inspections, with only 405 complaints filed, according to the agency’s records. In 2022, the final year publicly documented and after the reform of the Food Chain Law, there were 929 inspections and 78 complaints.
As a result, the minister announced the creation of a State Agency for Food Control aimed at addressing this persistent challenge. A day earlier, Planas encouraged agricultural organizations to report any irregularities in the law’s implementation through their representatives to ensure whistleblower confidentiality. His remarks came a week after the prime minister pledged to bolster inspection personnel, examine the value chain more closely, and establish an margins observatory for better oversight.