ASAJA has asked for the enforcement of prevention and crisis management measures in order to prevent the collapse of the prices of some products, as has been the case of cucumbers in recent weeks.
The associations of producer organizations play a fundamental role in production planning, marketing and crisis prevention and management; to do so, they have tools such as exceptions to competition rules, access to aid within the framework of operational programs and the possibility of withdrawing products or not harvesting them in the event of a price crisis.
An efficient planning of the production is essential for a good development of the campaign. The supply and the demand must be taken into account, as well as the time of the year in which the crop is going to be produced. This good planning will help prevent market saturation, with the consequent drop in the demand and its impact on prices.
If a good planning is not enough; there are other alternatives, such as the non-harvesting or withdrawal of the product. Such measures require the participation of producer organizations or their associations.
ASAJA is asking the associations of producers to implement these and/or other measures and tackle the crisis that cucumber growers are currently suffering. It also urges producers to request information from their marketing centers and Producer Organizations in order to find out what those measures are, to ensure that they are carried out in a coordinated manner, since unmonitored withdrawals will not necessarily have a significant impact on prices or boost the market demand.
We must also bear in mind that products such as cucumbers have a short cycle, so when a grower is affected by such price drops during the harvesting period, they are likely facing a crisis that won't even allow them to cover the production costs, resulting in irreparable losses.
