The Ministry of Agriculture, according to the production sector and the food industry, has given the green light to the withdrawal in July and August of up to 20,000 tonnes of stonefruit; peaches, nectarines and Paraguayo peaches. The department headed by Isabel García Tejerina has taken this step to prevent sharp price drops as a result of the six-month extension of the Russian veto.
With this aid, the fruit is withdrawn at a fixed price, and instead of being sold in the market, it goes to the processing industry (for juice production) and is distributed to soup kitchens, NGOs and other non-profit organizations. Spain has unilaterally taken the decision to withdraw fruit after no joint decisions were reached in Brussels to tackle the potential impact of the Russian ban. The Federation of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Vegetables (FEPEX) considers it a positive step, as it responds to the demands from the sector.
The behaviour of fruit prices during the first months of the campaign has been good, since there has been no overlap between different productions; however, in recent weeks, with the entry into production of Aragon and Catalonia, along with Italy and France, stonefruit prices have registered a downward trend, pushing prices for other products down at the same time. The goal is to prevent such market trends from spreading.
0.26 Euro per kilo
With the implementation of this withdrawal, producers will be guaranteed a minimum price for any possible surplus volumes of 0.26 Euro per kilo, which is a safety net for the markets.
The operation can only be undertaken by producer organizations, and the juice obtained from the processing must be given to charity. The cost of this operation will be financed entirely with operational programme funds.
If Brussels decides to include fruits among the products that will have access to exceptional aid, individual producers, in addition to producer organizations, will also be allowed to take part in the operation.
