In Spain, not only did economic activity such as hospitality, retail, aviation, and tourism come to an almost complete halt in April, but the agricultural sector could barely keep running.
Spain was in an almost total lockdown for weeks and is now slowly easing the strict restrictive measures. Only people performing essential work – including farmers – were allowed to travel freely between their home and workplace during the past weeks. Spain is one of the largest exporters of vegetables and fruit in the European Union.
The country enabled unemployed Spaniards to keep their benefits if they went to the countryside as fruit pickers. “It’s an opportunity for many people who would otherwise just be sitting at home,” said Lorenzo Ramos, General Secretary of the Union of Small Farmers. “The countryside can become a refuge this way,” he says. Migrants from abroad (mostly Moroccans) are also needed to harvest everything from strawberries, blueberries, oranges, and grapes to plums, tomatoes, and zucchinis.
Supermarkets have been asked to “place Spanish products in prominent spots on the shelves” and to promote those food items. According to the ministry, companies that distribute food have also been requested to support “seasonal and regional products.”
The corona crisis also exposed one of the weaknesses of the agricultural sector in the southern Spanish province of Andalusia once again. Spanish farmers had previously protested against unfair pricing, but during the lockdown situation it became clear again that local agriculture is vital for food supply, stated the Spanish news site elsaltodiario.com last weekend in an article about the “painful situation” of the current Andalusian agricultural model.
Farmers in the agricultural province of Andalusia say they suffer from unfair pricing in supply contracts between cooperatives, futures trading, raw material suppliers, agro-food companies, and supermarket chains. Moreover, they are outcompeted in global trade by fruit and food from countries with different quality standards.
The corona crisis has left a heavy mark on their sector, which represents 6.5 percent of the Andalusian economy. While vegetable consumption during the lockdown in Spain increased by 44%, the vegetable prices for horticulturists drastically dropped by up to 77%.
Organizations in the sector condemn the sales model of their profit-driven intermediaries. The Association for Farmers and Ranchers COAG in Andalusia criticized the extreme price drop of vegetables in the local media and called the price decrease shameful. They say this once again shows the great lack of competent controlling authorities when it comes to the food chain.
The Spanish agricultural sector, especially in the traditional central and southern parts of the country, still largely consists of tens of thousands of ‘small’ family farms. Additionally, much agricultural policy, strategy, product development, and quality control in Spain is not organized nationally, but many powers and budgets are allocated to regional and local authorities that often have an interest in maintaining their current situation.