Spain: Citrus fruits, another big loser in the Mercosur agreement

French farmers are protesting against the Mercosur agreement because they see their beef, poultry and sugar sectors in danger. Citrus fruits are also another sector in danger, as the Coordinator of Farmers and Cattle Farmers' Organisations (COAG) has denounced at the European Union Citrus Observatory, held this week in Brussels. Imports of processed citrus fruits from Brazil and Argentina would greatly benefit from a possible agreement, due to the tariff liberalisation that would facilitate their access to the community market, to the detriment of shipments to the industry of our production. Although the direct effects could be less noticeable in the fresh market, the imbalances in the already problematic industrial destination would affect, as a whole, the profitability of our citrus farms. This would definitely be the death blow for a sector that has suffered for years from unfair competition from imports from Egypt, Turkey or South Africa. At the European Observatory, COAG has ...