COAG has described the Government's reaction to the increase in production costs resulting from the war in Iran that the agricultural sector is enduring as "unacceptable," and has demanded a "much broader" package of measures. The agricultural professional organization has announced that it will promote mobilizations from the countryside throughout the national territory and does not rule out a large concentration in Madrid in front of the Ministry of Agriculture.
"The Government's response is unacceptable. They cannot come now with extending 20 cents in the case of agricultural diesel when it has risen more than 80 cents since this crisis began, for which, of course, the farmers are not to blame. We ask for a much broader package of measures that covers other production costs such as fertilizers or agricultural plastics," said the Secretary General of COAG, Andrés Góngora.
Direct impact on the shopping basket
After the announcement of the new decree from the Executive to protect households and businesses against the rising prices, especially energy prices, caused by the war in Iran, Góngora has warned that this proposal "is going to affect the shopping basket."
"Citizens need to know this, because there will be farmers who cannot sow, and that in the medium term will lead to a shortage of many products that are essential for the shopping basket," he explained.
In this scenario, COAG has insisted that the countryside "is not going to remain with its arms crossed." "We are going to undertake a process of mobilizations that will be specified in the coming days, with a nationwide calendar, and we do not rule out mobilizing in Madrid at the doors of the Ministry, because we understand that the response given is not sufficient and that it is going to generate a serious crisis in the agricultural sector, where we not only have to talk about production costs, but we also have a problem with imports, with price crises in many sectors," he emphasized.
"So enough already of wanting to give patches for something that is a problem of much deeper and broader scope. The Ministry of Agriculture also has to work with the other ministries to implement a package of aid that truly gives viability to the agricultural sector, because currently, with what is on the table, it does not provide it," Góngora lamented.