French farmers attack imports of Spanish produce

 

French farmers have started to attack shipments of produce from Spain in the latest sign that a crisis in Europe's agricultural sector is far from over, farming groups reported yesterday.

Earlier this week, a truck carrying peaches and nectarines from Spain was attacked by farmers as it tried to cross the border into France. European Union farming lobby Copa-Cogeca said dozens of trucks carrying fruit in recent weeks have been intercepted at a crossing in Boulou en Roussillon, causing problems for companies trying to ship goods into or through France.

The falling prices of fruit and vegetables have hit European farmers hard this year following an outbreak of virulent E. coli in Germany which left at least 26 people dead and thousands more ill. Spanish agriculture took the brunt of the fall in exports after Germany initially blamed it for being the source of the outbreak, forcing farmers to destroy thousands of tons of unsold produce that later proved not to be contaminated.

Angelique Delahaye, president of Vegetables of France, a union of vegetable producers, said Spanish peach producers are selling at what is below cost in France, undercutting local prices by as much as 40 cents a kilo. She said Spanish farmers don't adhere to the same strict labor-cost and pesticide rules as the French, which is why their fruit is cheaper.