The president of Mercadona assures that “we are risking agriculture in Spain.” This is how Juan Roig spoke this morning during the results press conference, which confirms a growth in profits of 40%, with a record of 1,000 million euros in profits and a turnover of 35,527 million euros in 2023.
Roig spoke thus when asked about the farmers’ protests in recent weeks and their criticism of imports from third countries, considering them unfair competition. He recognized that “farmers have to earn money” and pointed out that “we are risking agriculture” in a territory that is “the orchard of Europe.” He pointed out that “we have to take care of the field, how it is taken care of we don’t know. We can play the part that concerns us, but that’s it,” he indicated. In that sense, he said that the company “has a hard time explaining” the difference in prices at origin and in the market, which is due to the fact that the costs in the agri-food chain “are very high” for fresh products.
He had already explained before in the presentation that 85% of the products he sells, also in the fruit and vegetable section, come from local suppliers. “We want to buy where we are selling, because logically it is also cheaper,” explained Roig, who pointed out that he encounters some difficulties along this path. “If consumers want orange juice in summer, it can’t be from here. Either we bring it from outside or we cannot offer it,” explained the businessman, who gave as an example the pineapple that is in his stores, all imported. “In Spain there is very little, and only in El Hierro, so if we want pineapple we bring it from other countries, like Costa Rica, for example.” He also declared that “we always want to give priority to the Spanish product, but it has to have the ideal conditions for it,” he added.
Regarding the suppliers, he had also explained during the presentation that in the last year there had been several “unexplained movements” and that they had finally managed to “have trust with them and they with us.” A process in which Roig was personally involved during 2022 and 2023, visiting suppliers and factories. “They have to make high-quality products, but for them it has to be profitable, and we fight for the supplier to make money,” he said.
The firm has more than 3,000 specialist suppliers and inter-suppliers with whom it collaborates, with whom it will continue to apply the reductions in cost prices to sales prices throughout the year. Roig pointed out that Mercadona wants to be a totaler and not a distributor and noted that “we believe that ‘the Boss’ (customer) has to get it right and this is our job, we want them to buy with great quality and at a great price.”