The President of the Association of Farmers and Pets Villanueva de la Serena (Agrigo), Gerinio Iniges Sanchez, warned about “catastrophe“This is going on to grow rice in extremard to warn it Loss of profitability And situations that puts both the sector and the transforming industry associated with this grain, risking.
“Rice is loaded in extremadura“In statements about the European press, he said where he condemned the continuous reduction of the cultivated area:“ Three or four years ago there were 26,000 hectares, and this year there are water, we barely reached 20,000. This is a significant reduction, and every year everything falls, ”he said.
As the president of Agriga explained, The main reason is the lack of profitability of cultureIt is due to “destroyed prices” and “very high costs”, which makes its maintenance “impossible”.
In addition, he added, restrictions are added as an existence Special bird protection zones (Zepa)In traditional rice areas, such as Palazuelo, El, they said, Vililar de Rena, Puebla de Alclarin or Valsey, where “they cannot transform the lands” using environmental restrictions.
Agrigi President also influenced Influence on cooperatives and industry AGRI -Plood This depends on rice, such as Mercoguadiana, Tragsa or Agri -rood -cooperatives that group manufacturers in the area.
Lack of profitability and unfair competition
Íñiguez noted “unfair competition” as one of the main factors that threaten the sector from the entry of rice from Asian countries covered by agreements such as “all but weapons” that allow you to import together with very different conditions than those required in EuropeQuestionnaires
“This rice occurs with lower costs, without the restrictions that we have, neither in phytosanitarian, or in working conditions, which also cast doubt on food security,” he emphasized.
“Speech to ask for worthy prices has already occurred. We ask for Europe, which has so far been our greatest enemy, protects usProtects Standards and Laws should prefer European, Spanish and Extremadurian farmers, ”he said.
Among the proposed measures, Agriga demanded the creation of “quota” for imported rice and the introduction of tariffs similar to those that have already been used by other countries, such as the United States. “There is no beast, as Trump says, but with common sense to protect our production,” he said.
Unit of the rice protection sector
The situation, which was examined on Monday at a meeting in Merid, and what íñiguez called “very important.” For the first time, as he explained, associations, agricultural professional organizations, industry, marketers and manufacturers sat at the table.
“For the purpose of growth, which was never visible. We all agreed that the approach in EuropeThe questionnaires where the rules of entry into rice should be changed, ”he defended.
Similarly, íñiguez appreciated the readiness of the Estremadura Council, who, through the Minister of Agriculture and Cattle, Mercedes Moran and CEOs proposed supporting the problem to the Ministry of Agriculture in order to send the sector’s requirements to public institutions. “I think that this was the beginning of the protection of the crop that is going to disappear,” concluded the president of Agrigi.
