Cucumber crisis

COSTA TROPICAL farmers are considering the destruction of tonnes of cucumbers in an effort to stop the fall in prices.

Complaints have arisen amongst field owners as the production price of one kilo of cucumbers is around 30 cents but they are only receiving 15 cents from the big distribution companies.

The Andalucian Inter-branch Organisation of Fruits and Vegetables has advised farming companies to destroy the lower quality products which are causing commercialisation problems and rejection by the European market.

Said companies have been accumulating goods in their warehouses – a common practice during times when the market is saturated – in an attempt to prevent a price fall.

High temperatures from the beginning of the season, which caused overproduction, and the Russian ban on Spanish products, are blamed for the progressive drop in the profitability of cucumbers.

All the organisations involved have requested aid from the provincial, regional, national and European authorities to deal with what they are calling an agricultural crisis.