The president of AVA-ASAJA, Cristóbal Aguado, has described the agricultural year 2021 as “very hard” due to the historical escalation of production costs and, unlike other links in the agri-food chain and other economic sectors, due to the inability of farmers and ranchers to pass on this increase in costs in the prices they receive. The total losses of the Valencian agricultural sector amounted to EUR 640 million in 2021, EUR 230 million corresponding to market problems in most production sectors.
The other major crop in the region, wine grapes, has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Other products with severe losses in profitability were persimmons, stone fruit trees, onions, and potatoes. The most affected livestock herds were those that depend to a greater extent on the price of feed, which has become more expensive by 25%: pig, beef, and poultry. On the contrary, carob, avocado, kiwi, tiger nuts, cereals, organic farming, flowers, and plants have performed well.
The field is severely affected by the increase in production costs, whose cost overruns in 2021 amounted to 500 million. The most expensive inputs are electricity (+270%), diesel (+73%) and fertilizers (+48%). Investments in agricultural holdings also rise due to the rise in materials, and delivery times are extended.