Elsa Maishman (Reporter)
VEGETABLE producers in Spain have criticised the British press over its coverage of the salad shortage.
Several articles in the British media accused Spanish producers of storing the vegetables in Spain in order to sell them later at an increased price.
Fernando Gomez, head of the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producers and Exporters of Murcia (Proexport), has hit back at this criticism, labelling it ‘totally false’.
He drew attention to numerous photographs of empty shelves in British supermarkets compared with those in Spain overflowing with lettuce.
Gomez pointed out that the British shelves were marked with a ‘shameful’ €0.59 price tag, while in Spain the same product was on sale for €1.15.
“If they don’t have lettuces it’s because they don’t want to buy them” he said, calling the low British price ‘shameful.’
He then exclaimed that Spanish growers could not be ‘secretly storing’ lettuces, as they are a perishable good and don’t last in storage.
According to Gomez, the ‘aggressive’ pricing of British supermarkets is to blame for the shortage, not Spanish producers.
one pound 12p for a small cos lettuce and only one each. its a bit like russia. I found a big lettuce in my fridge might put it on ebay !
The only article I saw was in the Daily Mail and we know that is full of caca.
Spain is extremely important because they export huge amount of fresh vegetables and fruits all over the European Union because of their fantastic weather and quality. It is also true that British presses sometimes publish irrelevant news but recent 1 week of turbulence and bumpy weather in Spain could be a factor but regardless of the situation I am sure everything will be back to normal in the coming weeks because UK only produces 40 percent of the food they consume. It wont hurt any party, Spain would gain financially and UK would receive fresh vegetables and fruits. Damn this is food people, be happy and stay healthy.
Jason, I live in Spain, in the region that is known as the Salad Bowl of Spain, because it grows vast amounts of salad vegetables. I would like to point out that it has not been 1 week of turbulence and bumpy weather. I have lived here 14 years and it is the coldest winter I have ever known. The lettuces are usually harvested around 6 to 7 weeks after planting, however, this year they have had to be covered to keep the heat in and aid growing, they are now around 10 or more weeks post planting. So the farmers have got to factor in the cost of the plastic and the workers who have covered them plus the extra water, so don’t be surprised if everything is a little dearer.
Blame the supermarkets who refuse to buy from Spanish farmers because the supermarkets have their own land in Spain. Bad weather demolished the supermarkets’ own crops but they won’t buy from other sources because it would hit their profits.
Eric, 11th Feb. is right in what he says, some UK supermarket chains do own agricultural land and vineyards in Spain. Apart from that, according to the University of Almeria, the campaign that the ex Spanish Foreign Minister, Margallo, conducted against Gibraltar lead to a reduction in exports to the UK, from Valencia, Murcia, and Almeria of over 30%. According to the university it created a “catastrophic” situation in the 3 provinces. Margallo said nobody should worry as Spain could export to Russia. Well, NO. Britain now imports fruit, vegetables and wine from Chile and Morocco. It is a situation that Spain itself has created.
Most of the agricultural for salad type veg is under poly tunnels. Why would bad weather disrupt production?
Propaganda I think