The effects of a possible lack of rain in the coming weeks and during next autumn may cause the price increase that olive oil has suffered to occur “in more sectors”, warns the general secretary of the Union of Small Farmers and Livestock Os (UPA), Lorenzo Ramos. In statements to EFE, the general secretary of UPA describes these last two years as a period “very affected” by the drought, which has resulted in a general decline in many productions.
As an example, Ramos has pointed out the price increase that olive oil has suffered in the last month, with an annual increase in August of 52.5%, according to the latest data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Price increases such as that of olive oil can be spread to other agricultural products if the high temperatures do not subside and the rains do not irrigate the fields: however, Ramos points out that anticyclones such as DANA do not benefit production either, but rather The harmed ones and ends many of them.
Torrential rains, more intense hail and frost are some of the consequences of climate change that, in the opinion of the general secretary of UPA, are at the forefront of the sector’s problems and for which more support measures are requested. In this sense, Ramos has demanded that the Government ensure that the agricultural insurance line of the Spanish Combined Agricultural Insurance System (Agroseguro) “adapts” to the climatic conditions that have been occurring in recent years.
The beginning of the agricultural course was kicked off during the Informal Meeting of Agriculture Ministers of the European Union (EU) in Córdoba, last week: there, producers mobilized in a demonstration against the European agricultural policy. From this mobilization and its demands, Ramos highlights the request of agricultural organizations to European officials to save the national product and improve border controls.
Beyond the Córdoba protest, the general secretary of UPA values the aid received by the sector throughout the year to alleviate situations such as the drought, although he has criticized the role of the autonomous communities when it comes to distributing the funds. Ramos hopes that the Government will stop being interim as soon as possible to be able to implement policies and has hoped that it will be a rainy autumn.
From the agrarian organization Asaja, its president, Pedro Barato, has asked the administrations for an “urgent economic shock plan” to guarantee the viability of the farms, because if the current situation continues “the countryside will go out into the streets.” Barato has pointed out that farmers and ranchers begin the political course with great concern because the production costs and the “troubles” they attribute to the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) make it “impossible” to obtain profitability for their work.
In his opinion, a shock plan is necessary for five or six years, at least, to save the farms and more favorable taxation. “If the conditions continue as they are, the countryside will take to the streets,” warned the head of Asaja – an organization that participated in the demonstrations this month in Córdoba on the occasion of the formal Council of Agriculture Ministers of the European Union (EU) – . “Where are the content and speeches of emptied Spain? Either rural Spain is helped with investments or everything will remain just that, speeches,” according to Barato.
Barato has attributed the increase in food prices to “a general increase in costs throughout the food chain”, in addition to recalling that the farmer’s income is falling “almost 9%”. The latest data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI) reflect a year-on-year increase of 10.5% in food. Asked about the increase in the price of olive oil, he pointed out that “the data is what it is” and that last year there was a low harvest of just 650,000 tons, to which is also added the increase in the cost of obtaining it.
