One of Murcia’s leading fresh produce associations has blamed “derisory returns” for what it describes as “one of the poorest campaigns” in the history of citrus production in the Spanish region.

Asaja Murcia said the situation in which the sector currently found itself was “dramatic” and called on national authorities to put in place direct aid to producers to reinvigorate Murcia’s citrus industry.

In a statement, the association said that the negative balance for this year’s citrus campaign was the result of poor prices for the products in major markets.

“The derisory returns that were received did not cover the growers’ costs of production, which has led to land becoming unprofitable and being abandoned,” said Asaja Murcia general secretary Alfonso Gálvez Caravaca.

“The citrus sector must look to the immediate future and fight to obtain a greater level of direct aid from both national and international institutions,” he said.

“By doing this we can avoid the deterioration of an industry that has been a source of wealth for generations of growers in Murcia.”

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