BY ED ANDERSON
“We are facing a crisis.” The words of Victor Manuel Martín López, head of Eurocaja Rural, were blunt on Tuesday at El Español’s ‘Wake Up Spain’ on Spain’s economic future and uncertainty. It was certainly a different note being struck by Julián Conthe (Director General of Commercial and Economic Security in Spain) last week at the Fundación Alternativas event ‘La entrada en vigor del tratado de MERCOSUR’ on the EU’s new trade relationship with South American (and agricultural competitor) nations.
So first, the negatives. Although Victor Manuel struck a positive note on the prospects of Eurocaja Rural, there was no downplaying the challenges that Spain’s rural and farming communities are facing. Increased prices for grain and fuel due to the conflict in the Middle East, the growing technologisation of the sector making new equipment eyewateringly expensive, and the knock-on effects of trying to bring through a new generation of farmers to stop the tide of ‘España Vacía’ (Empty Spain).
On the flip side, Julián was striking a much more positive note on the opportunities for Spanish farmers, especially in sectors such as olive oil where he feels there’s a huge competitive advantage for Spanish farmers. However, even he was keen to emphasise that consumer protections were “non-negotiable”, clearly in an attempt to assuage concerns that products that are not required to hold the high regulations and standards the EU imposes on its farmers could enter the market, massively undercutting Spanish industry.
It’s not just Spain who is concerned; already Polish and French farmers have come out in hostility to the MERCOSUR agreement. But in a time of increasing awareness of the fragility of international links or dependency, is it really the moment for far-reaching agreements that may impact European food security?
Of course, Marisol de Francisco Bartolomé (of Banco Santander in Latin America) was quick to point out that this could mean a significant lowering of prices for farming goods such as soya, and for those of us reactionaries, even we have to acknowledge that perhaps the last liberal policy that had widespread support was the abolition of the corn laws, lowering prices for the masses with imports creating reduced prices. The long-term cost? The UK was on the brink of mass starvation after the Second World War, with National Archives declassified in 1978 commenting about needing a famine food program.
So, who to believe? Disaster or opportunity? For Spanish farmers, there’s no clear answer.
Edward Anderson is currently living in Madrid covering Spanish life /politics and can be found online @MetinMadrid on Twitter or https://metinmadrid.com/
Photograph by Maria Garcia Fernandez