The general director of Productions and Agricultural Markets of the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Esperanza Orellana, revealed on Thursday that 1.8 million kilos of cucumbers have been withdrawn from the market since January of last year, and that this has been carried out in an orderly and remunerated manner thanks to the operating funds managed by the Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organizations (FVPO).
She also said that the FVPO have managed the withdrawal of about 800,000 kilos in the second half of December alone, which is when "the situation in the sector has been really bad." She argued that cucumber prices have been acceptable during 2018, but dropped to really bad levels during the last three weeks of December and the first of January.
She also clarified that these withdrawals are only those managed by the FVPO, without taking into account those carried out by "producers on their own and without resorting to operating funds."
She pointed out that the collapse of prices has been due to a "series of circumstances, mainly climatological", which have led to an excess production and a high yield.
In order to prevent such price falls, she believes it is necessary for cucumber producers to join the FVPO's, which are the ones that manage the European funds.
In any case, she argued that withdrawals must always be a "last resort" and that the national and European regulations make it possible to have the tools for a better planning of the crop's marketing and production.
