Representatives of the French fresh produce industry are meeting today (Wednesday 17th August) close to Paris to discuss a campaign plan with the aim of addressing the crisis which has befallen the industry in the wake of the ‘cucumber scare’ at the end of May. image expired

The fruit and vegetable producers have stepped up their actions in recent weeks, which saw some irate Southern growers stopping trucks loaded with Spanish goods and tipping the contents onto the motorway in protest against Spanish farmers. The FNSEA union members who took part in the actions say Spanish farmers are undercutting their French counterparts in an attempt to recoup losses from the E.Coli crisis, which a German minister mistakenly attributed to Spanish cucumbers.

The FNSEA farmers have increased the intensity of their protest in an attempt to draw government attention to their plight. They say rising costs and shrinking farm-gate prices have resulted in several fruits and vegetables, particularly tomatoes, being produced at a loss to the farmer.  

Producers from Lot-et-Garonne descended upon Paris on Thursday morning to distribute 40 tonnes of tomatoes, melons and prunes at the Place de la Bastille. Raymond Girardi, one of the organisers, said, "We must act now in order to save our entire agricultural sector." An emergency meeting has been called today at FranceAgriMer, the food and fisheries body, based in Seine Saint Denis, which will see discussions and arbitration between principal actors in the agricultural sector. Those assembled will attempt to come to an agreement over what further action to take.   

French farmers’ union FNSEA called together fruit and vegetable producers towards the end of last month to develop a strategy to face up to the growing ‘economic crisis’ affecting the sector. Some growers estimate they have lost between 20 and 40 per cent of their turnover since the ‘cucumber crisis.’ Peach prices are said to have fallen 19 per cent compared to the five year average.

Bruno LeMaire, French Minister for Agriculture, who entered the debate over the weekend to ease growing tensions between Paris and Madrid, proposed a meeting with his Spanish equivalent, Rosa Aguilar, to work on joint proposals for better regulation of commodity markets.The meeting is expected to go ahead over the coming weeks.

In response to the intercepted lorries, rather than granting the farmers the aid they have been clamouring for, M LeMaire called upon the protestors to “respect national and pan-European rules.”

Stéphane Le Foll, campaign manager for Socialist party hopeful François Hollande, yesterday called for a “rapid mobilisation” on the part of the French government to ensure the present crisis does not result in “the loss of an entire agricultural sector.”