The Official Journal of the European Union (EU) has published the regulation that will increase the import quota of Chinese garlic to the European Union by 12,375 tonnes, reaching a total of 46,075 tonnes. With this decision, all hopes of the Spanish garlic sector, which had issued warnings about the economic and social consequences that this could entail for Spain due to unfair competition in terms of both quality and prices, have been lost. In the regulation, the European Commission (EC) explains that the increase is related to the market expansion caused by the entry of Romania and Bulgaria into the EU in 2007.
The new conditions, which will apply from 1 July, have been widely criticised by Spanish growers in areas like Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia and Castile-León, as they fear the consequences of increased competition from the Chinese shipments.
