Freshuelva has warned today that many red fruit producers in the province of Huelva are considering abandoning their crops and stopping planting the next campaign due to the refusal of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to match the sanitary conditions in berry crops in Europe and authorize the use of phytosanitary products necessary for soil disinfection that are applied in other countries such as Portugal, Italy or Greece.

Freshuelva regrets that the meeting recently held with the Ministry's General Director of Agricultural Production Health, Valentín Almansa, ended without a solution to a problem that affects the more than 11.000 hectares dedicated to the cultivation of berries in the province of Huelva , who need these phytosanitary products to guarantee the health and economic viability of their crops.

Already 750 red fruit producers in the province of Huelva signed letters to this effect addressed to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), Luis Planas, in which they demanded that the use of essential efficient formulas be authorized to combat pests in soils intended for berry crops, as has been the usual note in previous campaigns and as occurs in other countries of the European Union.

The farmers recalled that red fruit crops generate more than 100.000 jobs in the province of Huelva, warning that, "if a solution is not given to our sector regarding the issue of disinfection and what specifically refers to the availability of effective tools for the control of fungi and soil nematodes, so limiting in our crops, our sector is going to be seriously damaged”.

In the same way, they complained that this year, in addition, "it has been decided to authorize tobacco producers to use the necessary phytosanitary products for disinfection, which has meant unequal treatment compared to other Spanish crops and producing areas, such as ours”, to which they added that a situation of disadvantage is occurring because in countries in southern Europe such as Portugal, Greece and Italy “the use of these products is authorized while in Spain it is denied, being all under the same legislative field and applying the same Community Regulation 1107/2009”.

In this context, Freshuelva has lamented that the Government does not offer alternatives to "protect our interests and guarantee the health and economic viability of our crops by authorizing us to use efficient formulas that are essential for disinfection work in strawberry, raspberry and and dwell”.

After insisting that "if this situation is not resolved, irreparable damage will be caused in the sector and in the economy of the province", Freshuelva has trusted that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development, with whose Those responsible will hold a meeting in the coming days, "mediate with the Ministry to provide a solution to the sector."