스페인 뿌리 인사이트

Potato producers in Spain are keen to expand their areas, but a problem is once again emerging with the shortage of seed material.

The sale of extra-early varieties has already begun in the south of Spain, which has sown a good part of the area that was planned. After a spring of 2024 with seed problems, due to scarcity and excessive size, doubts now arise about health. The rains have barely given a break in the main production areas of Europe, from the north of France and Belgium to the southern half of Germany. Just as in the production areas of Palencia and Burgos, it has not stopped raining since August. Many tubers are rotten due to the rains and may affect the sowings of the Peninsula. "In some cases, the seed potato has been harvested with humidity and it will cause problems," says the agricultural engineer and consultant Fernando Alonso Arce, for whom "it is to be expected that the sowings in the south will have sufficient seed, but as the plantations move northwards the situation will be complicated."

Marta Alcaide The sugar beet sector is concerned about the unequal treatment suffered by both farmers and the crop within the EU framework with respect to sugar imports from Ukraine and Mercosur. Uncertainty in the sector is increasing while representatives of the EU and Latin America are making progress in the negotiation of Mercosur and the Trade Agreement with Ukraine. The General Association of Sugar Manufacturers (AGFAE) is concerned about the impact of both treaties on the sector, highlighting some of its most important points. "Our sector is facing regulatory changes and modifications of the rules of the game in the international panorama that threaten the competitiveness and long-term viability of the sector in Spain and in the EU," the organization points out. One of the concerns of the sector continues to be the prohibition of the use of certain active ingredients to combat pests and diseases of the crop. This prohibition is