Carrefour targeted in Spanish grower protest
Disgruntled Spanish farmers have taken part in a protest by dumping potatoes outside the doors of Carrefour, in a demonstration over the Russian embargo and the French retailer offering low prices for the crop.
Potato suppliers discarded their stocks outside Carrefour in Granada as part of the demonstration organized by the Spanish Union of Small Growers and Ranchers.
The union has accused large supermarket chains like Carrefour of taking advantage of the Russian ban by offering extremely low prices for produce, and in turn making the farmers' situation even more difficult.
According to secretary general of UPA Andalusia AgustÃn RodrÃguez, the Russian embargo has caused a crisis for Spanish growers and suppliers. He warns that around 600,000 Spanish jobs are directly dependent on the fruit and vegetable industry.
Around 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds) of potatoes were given away to members of the public to make the point and more protests could be on the cards over the coming weeks.
RodrÃguez comments on the first anniversary of food and agricultural legislation passed last year under Spanish law aimed at protecting both consumers and industry sectors, including balancing prices in the value chain.
"Nothing is further from reality," he says in a release.
"Therefore we demand the Ministry of Agriculture and the regions that are put to work around this law of commercial banks to permanently eradicate the abuses of the distribution."
He adds that production can not be subjected to a 'lottery campaign' and the significant socio-economic importance of the agricultural sector to the country's overall economy can not be overlooked.
He goes on to criticize the European Commission’s €125 million (US$ 165million) compensation package.
"Brussels' measures are not enough. €125 million to alleviate the situation across the EU is a ridiculous amount, especially when imports from Europe to Russian exceed €1.25 billion (US$1.65 billion)," he says.
"Above all and most importantly, we must remember the Russian veto is for one year and affects the present and the future. So we lose a very important market, achieved after years of hard work."
Elsewhere in Spain, other fruit producers are believed to have thrown produce on the ground in the streets of Zaragoza and burned a European Union flag as a protest against what they consider insufficient compensation.
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