Unións Agrarias maintains that the new strategy announced by the Xunta to combat food waste "will be positive as long as it involves a budget that helps producers cover the costs" derived from that food, since on many occasions its collection implies "an unaffordable cost".
The agrarian organization emphasizes that it supports "all initiatives that improve access to food for people and optimize natural resources, because for farmers and ranchers, wasted food is always a failure, but it must be taken into account that it almost never depends on them".
It also recalls that in contexts of drought, frost, or intense storm episodes, harvests are generated that cannot be used, so "it must be foreseen what is done with the damaged produce".
Unións Agrarias also points out that, on certain occasions, "it was not possible to administratively untangle the possibility" of channeling that food to food banks and social entities, "which seem to have difficulties with fresh products for storing and distributing them". For this reason, the organization demands that "all this be unblocked and expedited, but always also helping the producer who is the one who always incurs costs for that product to exist".
In Spain, in 2024, food waste in households amounts to about 24 kilos per person per year, which represents 3.7% of the shopping basket. This implies that, out of every 100 kilos purchased by consumers, approximately 3.7 kilos are discarded.
The average household food expenditure is around 1,800 euros per person per year, with an annual waste level of 3.7%.