Farmers in the Algarve fear that the entry into force of the agreement with Mercosur will make the region’s main production unviable. The shock in the price of oranges or avocados could reach 50% for the producer, compromising the survival of a sector that is currently worth more than 800 million euros.
The queen of Algarve agriculture, responsible for 16 thousand hectares of plantations and almost half of the regional productive value, the Algarve orange is also the most exposed to the opening of the European market to Latin America.
It is part of the preliminary conclusions of the study commissioned by the Algarve Farmers Federation.
The prospect of a European agreement with Mercosur represents a high risk for the sector.
The reduction of tariffs and trade barriers to what Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay produce has the potential to crush the prices of citrus fruit, but also of the valuable avocados produced in the Algarve, much of it in modern crops dedicated to export to northern Europe.
Farmers oppose ratification of the free trade agreement. They say that the Government was quick to assess the impact, when it did not even include any product from the Algarve, including oranges, in the list of geographical indications to be protected in Latin America.
