Avocado growers calling for prioritizing domestic production

The Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-Asaja) together with the Association of Avocado Producers (Asoproa) ask both food distributors and consumers to prioritize domestic avocado, with special force after the detection of excessive levels of residues in avocados imported from Peru.

 

The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (Rasff) recorded three interceptions in 2022 of shipments of avocados from Peru with levels of substances that exceed the Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) allowed in the European Union, and one of these cases was refered to organic avocados.

 

AVA-Asaja and Asoproa denounce that imports of this fruit are displacing European production that does meet the guarantees of food safety and sustainability. Moreover, to fight climate change, it is important to give priority to local products that have a lower carbon footprint, and to bet on other origins only when there is no longer enough own production.

 

For this reason, AVA-Asaja and Asoproa insist on calling producers, distributors, marketers and administrations to develop a strategy aimed at differentiating national and European avocados from foreign imports on the rise that do not offer the same guarantees to buyers, even though they are good business for importers.

 

In this sense, the Andalusian avocado is especially relevant. In the previous season, Andalusia remained the leading producing region in the country, with 78% of the total area planted and 82% of the total Spanish production.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

source: sevilla.abc.es