The prices that Spanish farmers are offered for their potatoes and onions are so bad that they destroy their crops out of necessity. The Spanish Association for Young Farmers mentions this. The supply from other countries is so great that the market is flooded.
The Spanish Organization for Young Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) reports that companies in Valencia, central and eastern Spain and along the Mediterranean coast are destroying potato and onion crops because they receive extremely low prices for their product. According to Cristóbal Aguado, president of the association: 'The lack of a transparent market, the power of supermarkets and a lack of measures (such as insurance for interest rates) are causing farmers in Valencia to destroy their crops.'
Offers from all over the world
Spanish supermarkets are currently offered potatoes and onions from Egypt, Cyprus, Israel, Chile and Peru. New table potatoes from France are also dumped on the Spanish market, meaning there is no longer any demand for product from Valencia. The average Spanish price for early potatoes was 375 euros per tonne at the end of May. Prices have been falling rapidly since the start of the harvest.
Growth in area
According to a latest estimate by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, the potato area for early and medium potatoes amounts to almost 53.000 hectares. This represents an increase of 2,6 percent compared to last year. An increase of 3 percent is expected for late potatoes. This brings the area to over 75.000 hectares. High prices at the end of the last season ensure an area expansion. Since 2000, the Spanish acreage has been on a downward trend. This has stabilized since 2012. The surface area has been increasing again in recent years.
More hectares, more kilos
The southern province of Andalusia is expected to expand the area of early potatoes by 30 percent. According to an initial forecast, the Murcia region in the southeast will harvest more than 20 percent more potatoes. That is good for an increase from 94.000 tons to 114.000 tons of product.
In Valencia, production fell slightly, from 45.200 tons to 44.000 tons. The area of medium early (media estación) has actually decreased slightly. Especially in the Galicia region, where most of these potatoes are grown. This is due to the rise of soil-borne diseases.