The Union de Pequeños Agricultores y Ganaderos (the UPA, the union of small farmers) here in Andalucia has made public the mark ups added to the prices of vegetables in an effort to show that it is not the producers who are responsible for the recent rises in food prices. The UPA accused distribution companies of making abusive increases to prices, to the cost of producers and consumers alike. One example is the cucumber; in August 2007 producers were being paid 0.47 euros per kilo and the market price was 1.00 euro per kilo, a mark up of 113 per cent. This year producers are receiving only 0.30 euros per kilo while market prices are around 1.60 euro per kilo, a mark up of 533 per cent. The mark up on courgettes has increased from 259% last year to 750% this year; the mark up on lettuces has increased from 389% to 813%. Some of this can be put down to the rises in fuel prices but now fuel prices are starting to fall again food prices do not seem to be.
Many livestock farmers are also suffering as a result of continuing price rises for cereals for animal feed despite the decrease in prices paid to cereal producers and the drop in fuel prices.
The UPA has asked the regional and national governments to intervene by introducing a Law of Commercial Margins which would control the mark ups at each link of the chain form producer to consumer.
No comments:
Post a Comment