Representatives of the political party Compromís and of Valencian agricultural organizations met last Thursday at the headquarters of the former in order to discuss the problems that the citrus sector is facing, and have demanded the end of the agreement between the European Union and South Africa. MEP Jordi Sebastià said that they will keep pushing for this in Brussels, since the agreement with South Africa "is having catastrophic consequences." Sebastià stated that the European Union's trade policy with the African country is "taking a severe toll on Valencian producers, who will hardly have a chance, given that they are not competing with the same rules." After recalling that South African citrus fruits will arrive tariff-free from 2026, the MEP explained that while local producers "are asked to meet a series of socio-labor, environmental and health standards, those from third countries are exempt; therefore, their production will always be cheaper." The meeting was also attended by the spokesperson of Compromís in the Spanish Congress, Joan Baldoví, as well as by La Unió de Llauradors, the Valencian Association of Agricultural Producers (AVA), Anecoop, the Federation of Cooperatives and the Citrus Management Committee. "What we want is actual measures, and this will only happen if the Ministry of Agriculture gets to work to address the issue," said Baldoví.
Source: freshplaza.com
Full Article