Watermelons at 29 cents per kilo: ‘It is no longer worthwhile for the farmer to harvest’

“Today the price paid to the producer for a kilo of watermelons is on average between 10 and 12 cents. But according to estimates the actual production costs exceed 20 cents per kilo. The margin is therefore negative. And this is not an exception: it is now a structural rule for many fruit and vegetable sectors. A kilo of watermelon requires: quality grafted seedlings, plastic and plants for mulching and irrigation, treatments, fertilisers, skilled labour, bins, harvesting, transport, and commercial mediation. If the goods remain unsold or are not harvested, the economic damage is double. The farmer has to choose between losing everything or selling below cost’.

© LatinaToday

What nobody says clearly is that this situation worsens the quality of food in Italy.

Below: a recent Coop campaign