- Both trade unions denounce that "the livestock sector cannot cope with the excessive increase in animal feed and, in particular, the cost of feedingstuffs, due to the increase in the value of cereals in a highly speculative world market".
According to the EHNE and ENBA trade unions, in 2020 the price of feed in pigs and poultry was increased, in particular, while in the last six months it has also increased in cattle and sheep: "The rise has been around 20%, and this growth has further accentuated the delicate situation in which the sector finds itself. It has also lowered the price of milk and meat, and there are problems withdrawing pastures and veal from the udder."
When the distribution chain has increased its billing
Livestock unions have warned that the measures of the pandemic have led to the closure of mobility, hospitality and collective dining rooms, etc., which has led to a "considerable increase" in the demand for food in the distribution, "which has led to a significant increase in these chains in both billing and profit".
But they denounce that this has not increased the yield of farmers: "This same phenomenon has not been passed on to producers and producers have not had a positive impact on the results, despite the fact that more food has been sold than ever. If distribution squeezes the processing industry, that does the same for farmers and farmers, who have not improved the price of their products. That is why, from the livestock sector, we ask industry and distribution to update the prices we are paid for our products and to update the sales prices (if used as attractive products), thus ensuring the profitability of the livestock sector."
Call for the Food Chain Law
EHNE and ENBA have pointed out that "we continue to rely more than ever on the final adoption of the Food Chain Law, to give it more transparency, to balance, to give profitability to all links, to avoid abusive practices, to establish production costs and to ask for contracts when delivering our products".
They have also called for a global ban on speculation: "Finally, we are aware that the sector cannot be maintained through short-term aid and that, therefore, other structural measures are necessary to underpin the root of the problem, such as the prohibition of speculative practices at global level."