2023-06-01 00:14:56
The sector contacts distributors to appease a campaign that they consider “insidious and harmful”
Almost 600 million euros. This is what the national agri-food sector is at stake in exports due to the ‘strawberry war’ that Germany has declared on Spain. Specifically, if the boycott that demands that the main supermarkets in the German country stop buying strawberries from Huelva to avoid contributing to the drying up of the Doana National Parkthe producers would see more than 580 million euros in jeopardy.
Strawberries are one of the most exported products in Huelva’s fruit and vegetable sector and Germany is its main destination. The province generated exports worth 1,386 million euros in 2022 and, of that total, strawberries accounted for 583 million. Hence the campaign promoted by the German association Campact and encouraged by members of the Spanish government – including the president himself Pedro Sanchez– Has provoked strong rejection and great tension among businessmen in the sector.
More than 150,000 citizens have already joined the campaign to “stop the sale of dry strawberries.” Campact, which promotes “progressive” policy initiatives, calls on supermarket chains -“Edeka, Lidl and company” – that they remove Andalusian strawberries from their assortments because the “illegal theft of water” from their suppliers threatens to destroy the “fragile ecosystem” of Doana.
They report that agricultural companies illegally pump water from the “long dried up” Doana National Park, to supply Germany and the rest of Europe with strawberries even in winter. “Especially after the electoral success of the Popular Party last weekend in the regional and local elections, there is a danger that the theft of water will now become officially permitted”, warn the association in reference to the proposed law of the Andalusian government to expand the irrigable area with surface water.
Government support
The president of the Government, Pedro Sanchez, echoed the campaign on Twitter with this message: “Denialism ruins our environment and risks ruining local economies. Save Doana.” The third vice president and minister of Ecological Transition, Teresa Riberaadded in the same social network that “it is essential to clear up any doubts: Juanma Moreno must immediately withdraw the irrigated law that Doana threatens”.
For his part, the Andalusian president responded to Sánchez by assuring that the “manipulation” had “gone out of hand” for the Government and warning that “speaking ill of Andalusia and its farmers in Europe has these consequences.” “They are playing with the bread of thousands of families”, denounced in his tweet. “Doana is saved with more commitment and less demagogy. It’s all right!” Moreno sentenced.
Faced with these reactions, the strawberry interprofessional, Interfresalaunched a forceful statement yesterday appealing to “the responsibility of the authorities and public administrations so that they act prudently and in the general interest” before a campaign that they consider “insidious and harmful” for an industry as a whole, that of Huelva berries, which constitutes 98% of the production of this crop in Spain and 30% in the EU, which represents 11.35% of the GDP of the Huelva province and gives work for 260,000 people between direct and indirect jobs.
In the statement, Interfresa catalogs “false” the accusations received from Germany, denies that the strawberry industry exploits water from illegal sources and guarantees that the red fruits produced in Huelva are guaranteed by the “most demanding international protocols”. The industry always incorporates the most cutting-edge techniques that guarantee efficient use and saving of water into its way of working, and in recent years this industry has become a benchmark for other countries”, he adds.
Faced with this situation, the sector is going to initiate a round of contacts with distribution companies to “clarify the lack of rigor” of the campaign, which shares “false” information. EL MUNDO has contacted the large supermarkets involved and, for the moment, they have not ruled on it. Neither do the employers, from where they locate the controversy in a conflict between suppliers and authorities. Neither the Ministry of Agriculture, which is also silent on the matter, although Luis Planas s spread Sánchez’s message on Twitter.
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The Trust Project
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