The Unió Llauradora i Ramadera has warned that Valencian farmers and ranchers are facing this summer production costs much higher than those of six years ago, right in a period when many farms are increasing their consumption of water, energy, fuel, and other key inputs.
According to official data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the general index of prices paid for goods and services used in agricultural activity stands at 129.54, taking 2020 as base 100. In practice, agricultural 'inputs' are about 30% more expensive than in 2020, although some of the main expenses of the farms have experienced "much higher" increases, as the organization pointed out in a statement.
Fuels have recorded a cumulative increase of more than 90% since 2020, fertilizers are now 82% more expensive, and energy has risen by 48%. The costs of maintenance and repair of machinery (+39%), phytosanitary products (+29%), and general expenses of the farms (+28%) have also increased significantly.
The rise in fertilizers is particularly concerning. Nitrogen fertilizers now cost more than double what they did in 2020. Urea 46%, for example, has gone from 52.69 to 72.84 euros per 100 kilos in one year, representing a 38% increase. Ammonium sulfate 21% has risen by nearly 30%, and fertilizer 15-15-15 has increased by almost 19%, a situation that weighs more heavily during the summer months.
In irrigated crops, the greater water needs are added to the energy costs of pumping, in addition to spending on fertilization, phytosanitary treatments, and machinery use. In dryland crops, fuel, machinery, treatments, and fertilizers continue to stand out as the main burdens.
In livestock farms, animals must be fed, watered, and receive daily care regardless of market conditions, which keeps the costs of feed, fuels, electricity, veterinary services, and maintenance high.
The Unió has emphasized that this inflation of agricultural costs does not translate homogeneously to the prices received by producers. While fuels and fertilizers are 90% and 82% above 2020 levels, respectively, the prices at origin of numerous products do not compensate for the sharp increase in production costs.
In this way, the prices at origin and destination of different products from the Valencian field show a differential of 321% in zucchini, 385% in lettuce, 218% in cucumber, 263% in red pepper, 225% in green pepper, 245% in salad tomato, 424% in lemon, 147% in melon, and 208% in watermelon.
In the case of livestock products, the differential reaches 229% in prime beef, 348% in lamb, 187% in chicken, 423% in pork, and 238% in rabbit. These margins, the organization emphasizes, highlight the "need" to strengthen the functioning of the food chain to ensure that producers can cover their costs and obtain a "fair remuneration" for their work.
La Unió maintains that an effective application of the Food Chain Law is "more necessary than ever" to prevent the weakest link from disproportionately bearing the increase in costs.
The Secretary General of La Unió, Carles Peris, has reminded that "when summer arrives, we cannot turn off the field. Crops still need water, energy, treatments, and machinery, and animals must be fed and cared for every day." Producing food costs much more today than it did six years ago, and many of those extra costs are directly borne by the farmer or rancher," he emphasized.
In light of this scenario, La Unió has demanded the definitive implementation of a professional agricultural diesel, specifically aimed at farmers and ranchers, with reduced and adapted taxation both in VAT and in the Hydrocarbons Tax, within the margins allowed by European regulations. The organization considers it "necessary" to move from one-off measures or subsequent refunds to a stable system that directly lowers the fuel used to produce food. "It makes no sense for a fuel essential for producing food to bear a tax designed fundamentally for ordinary consumption," Peris emphasized.
La Unió also demands "structural measures" to reduce the energy bill of farms and irrigation, through the promotion of self-consumption and renewable energies, energy storage, modernization of irrigation systems, and investments in energy efficiency.
In addition, it calls for actions in response to the "strong increase" in fertilizers, especially nitrogenous ones, as well as the design of a strategy that allows reducing external dependence on essential raw materials for agricultural production.
"If we want to guarantee food production and maintain viable farms, public policies cannot be limited to acting on final prices; they also have to help reduce the structural costs of production," Peris has concluded.