“It is impossible to compete against the Egyptian orange at half the price”

It is impossible to compete against the demolition prices of the Egyptian orange, it costs half as much as the orange produced in Spain,” laments Jordi Ametller, co-owner of the Ametller Origen group, which integrates the entire value chain, taking food from the field to the supermarket.

The manager of this Catalan company, which controls citrus farms in Alicante, expresses the discomfort of farmers when they face the low prices of products imported from outside the European Union.

“Not only are they sold at a lower price, but they are introduced to the European market without having passed the same controls as food produced on the continent,” laments Ametller, CEO of the Agràries division. The businessman compares his disadvantaged situation by making this parallel: “It is as if some players were asked to build a puzzle with their eyes covered and others were allowed to do the same puzzle with their eyes uncovered. It is unfair”.

The businessman assures that he is not against introducing regulations that reduce the environmental impact of crops and reduce the use of pesticides. But authorities, especially in the EU, should do so in a more measured way. “It is legislated from the offices, without visiting the territory or listening to the needs of each country. The Mediterranean countryside has nothing to do with that of Central Europe and, as usual, the criteria of France and Germany prevail.” But not all the blame lies with the EU. “In Catalonia we complicate everything even more,” he laments.

The company is critical of unfair competition but in its establishments it acknowledges offering products from outside the EU when they are out of season, such as oranges from South Africa during the summer months. “We cannot decide for our customers, they are the ones who must buy consciously,” says the owner of the company.

Regarding pricing policy, the European Union already has mechanisms to stop fraudulent practices through anti-dumping legislation. Broadly speaking, the regulations require proof that products are sold at a price below their cost and that for this reason they cause damage to the functioning of the EU market. One way to address the problem is to impose fines on non-EU countries if they are found to be introducing products into Europe unfairly.

For farmers, these mechanisms are not enough because they have not ended the price disparity. For this reason, they demand inspections of production. “The authorities should require certifications on compliance with the same phytosanitary and environmental policies. It should also be verified that labor conditions are fair. Controls could even be carried out in the fields and farm employees interviewed,” Ametller considers.

With the aim of reducing dependence on foreigners, the Ametller Origen group has launched an ambitious agricultural farm plan. “We want to recover the lost orchard in Catalonia. In the last 30 years, 80% of the horticultural surface in this territory has disappeared,” says the manager. The company’s commitment is to build an Agroparc in the municipality of Gelida and to recover agricultural land in Baix Llobregat. In Catalonia, the company already has operations in Baix Penedès, Maresme and the Ebre Delta. And in the rest of Spain, it has agricultural land in Valencia, Murcia and Andalusia, which follows the Mediterranean coast to Almería. At the moment, half of their products are homegrown and the other half come from third parties.

Like the rest of the farmers, Ametller not only denounces the unfair competition that the countryside has suffered for years. He is also concerned about the general discouragement of the sector, which has been affected for years. Although Ametller did not attend the historic demonstration held this week, he is especially critical of the rise in prices of phytosanitary products and also against the effects of climate change and bureaucracy. In this last area, the Generalitat announced on Friday that it would unify the platforms where the procedures can be carried out from 14 to 1. “We have the feeling that we are more administrative than farmers,” says Ametller.

Regarding the effects of climate change, the manager regrets having lost 70% of the harvest of the vineyards he has in Penedès due to the drought in recent months. He also claims to have suffered losses in fruit, especially peaches and nectarines. “Due to the climatic adversities we experienced in the summer, we have lost entire plots and a lot of fruit has come out in a size that does not meet commercial standards. It is true that we sell these scraps to the industry but the price paid is much lower than in supermarkets,” laments the owner of the group, which has a turnover of around 400 million euros annually.

In these turbulent times, Ametller draws on the centuries-old experience he has accumulated harvesting the lands of the Tarragona countryside, in which the family has overcome crisis after crisis.