Bumper crop raises fears of shortage of workers to harvest the fruit
Mango growers in La Axarquía, Málaga are braced for a record crop this year. Production is on course to hit 35,000 tonnes, double last year’s output, prompting concerns that there will not be enough workers to harvest the fruit.
Speaking to El Debate, Santiago Sánchez, secretary general of Asaja Málaga said: “Mango has a short and intense season, which requires a lot of labour in a limited amount of time. This fruit, unlike avocados, which can be harvested a little longer, must be picked at its peak ripeness, otherwise it’ll be on the ground in 15 days. There’s not enough labour to pick the fruit”.
According to Sánchez, the Trops cooperative, which accounts for more than 50 per cent of the Malaga harvest, had yet to fill 200 of its 500 vacancies for pickers this season.
“This issue has been around for a long time and also affects other products,” he told El Debate. “People don’t want to work in the fields. It’s not a question of money. They are paid a tax-free salary that is around €56 a day, but there are subsidy policies that discourage employment. We need to consider tax breaks to avoid increasing employer costs and make working profitable.”
La Axarquía is home to around 4,000ha of mango plantings and accounts for almost 90 per cent of Spain’s total production.
