Since early November, Almeria's growers have been suffering the low prices registered by the region's horticultural products, especially those of cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers. Not surprisingly, this sparked several protests from agricultural organizations such as UPA and Coag. As argued by these groups, despite the fact that the prices received by the grower sometimes fall below the production costs, the latest report of the Price Index of Foods at Origin and Destination (IPOD), corresponding to November, reveals considerable price increases from farm to fork, multiplying by 4.06 on average.
Precisely in the month corresponding to the report, tomato growers protested against the low prices at origin they receive. The IPOD shows that, while the grower was paid an average of 0.37 Euro for a kilo of salad tomatoes, consumers had to pay 2.23 Euro on average for the same product. Thus, the price between origin and destination was multiplied by 6.03, i.e. a 503% increase in value from field to fork.
Tomatoes are among the five agricultural products with the widest profit margin last month, together with cabbage, whose value from origin to retail increased by 671%; lettuce, with 540%; and two citrus fruits, oranges and mandarins, whose prices from farm to fork grew by 750 and 564%, respectively.
For the rest of horticultural products offered by Almeria's growers, another increase worth noting was that of green peppers, sold at origin for 0.60 Euro per kilo, according to the report by COAG, UCE and Ceaccu, while consumers had to pay 1.95 Euro on average, representing an increase of 225%.
Other vegetables such as cucumbers, red peppers, aubergines and courgettes, which complete the list of major greenhouse-grown products in the province of Almeria, registered price increases below 200%. In the case of aubergines, the increase in value between origin and destination was actually of less than 100%, namely 98%. The price at origin of aubergines stood at 0.82 Euro and final consumer paid an average of 1.62 Euro per kilogram.
