Spain is an agricultural giant with mud feet

To understand the current problem of the Canarian banana only two figures are needed: the first is 0.42 (“The average price that the producer will receive for the most quality fruit (…) per kilo “); the second is 0.75 (” the production costs “of that same kilo of bananas).

To understand the full problem, we have to take perspective. Because, if right now the Canarian sector is dying, a couple of months ago we saw the bananas in the peninsula up to seven euros per kilo.

What is happening? As Roman Delgado explainedtoday (and with the data of week 36 of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) prices “continue to generate losses in the crop, because with them the exploitation costs are not covered.” And yet, this would not have to be as bad as it really is.

The Canarian banana, Thanks to the Posei Program of the European Unionhas one of the most refined compensation systems in the country. In principle and in these circumstances, the EU would complete the producers’ accounts with 33 cents. However, the situation is so tense that (in many cases) or with those aids, costs would be covered.

And that prices have not been as low as they feared. Above all, because it has entered much less Latin American banana in the peninsula of what was expected. Meteorological problems on the other side of the puddle and logistics problems have produced a relative shortage of peninsular markets.

This means that, although (as happened in 2024) everyone expected a price drop – related to the decrease in institutional demand with the arrival of summer, fortunately the collapse has been lower.

Map (Via Canarias now)

A problem that comes from afar … That is, the banana has saved furniture at the last moment and, even so, they are in free fall. But the key question is why: and the answer is a succession of years between bad and nefarious that have led On the verge of bankruptcy to any of the main cooperatives of the archipelago (which dragged problems from the eruption of the palm).

… And that nobody is clear how long it will arrive. Because, remember, 2025 was the good year. That is, everything seems to indicate that as is the case with other traditional Spanish crops (such as the olive tree), the Canary Islands banana is on the edge of death and does not know.

For now, it is still alive because the possei is armored until 2027, when the next budget framework of the Union is approved. The problem is that chaining another three bad years waiting for a solution from heaven to “fall very similar to” survive hooked to a machine. ” Even more when The ghost of the European agreement with Mercosur Threat to complicate (even more) the situation.

The truth is that Canary Islands, Like the rest of Spanish agricultureneed a background reflection: it has grown thanks to the European “regulatory walls”, but those walls have been cracking for years. It’s time to reflect seriously about what we want to be older.

Image | Brando Makes Branding / Diego Catto

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