Spain: Potato producers receive five times less money than what is paid in the supermarket

Specifically, according to the Price Index at Origin and Destination (IPOD) for food prepared by the agricultural organization COAG, onion farmers receive 0.35 euros per kilo at the source, while consumers must pay 1.85 euros at the destination, which implies a difference of 429% and an IPOD difference - the number of times the price at origin is multiplied until it reaches the consumer - of 5.29.

According to data from the consumer association Facua, the average price of onions in supermarkets in March was €2.16 per kilo, a 13.50% increase compared to the same month of the previous year, when it cost €1.90. The reality is that, despite consumers paying more than two euros for the product,  farmers  receive less than forty cents per kilo.

Onions, with a price of 0.35 euros per kilo for farmers, do not cover production costs, which have increased - in all branches of livestock and agriculture - due to the higher cost of fuels, fertilizers and inputs as a result of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Middle East.

Onions and potatoes do not cover production costs

Furthermore, farmers have indicated that this year’s production will be lower than in previous seasons due to downy mildew infestations. "This year is proving very difficult, and if things don’t change, the onion season could be disastrous once again," lamented Vicente José Sebastià, head of the vegetable sector at Asaja Comunidad Valenciana.

Regarding potatoes, which cost farmers €0.40 per kilo while selling for €1.98 in supermarkets (395% more), farmers have indicated that the influx of old potatoes from France and unfair competition from third countries such as Egypt, Morocco, and Israel has reduced the cultivated area nationally by 15%, so an overproduction that could justify the  drop in prices  for farmers is not expected.