Spanish olive-growing sector prepares new protests

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In early 1998, farm owners, cooperatives and trade unions in the Spanish olive-growing sector are preparing new protests in opposition to the reform of the Common Market Organisation for olive oil laid down in a draft proposal by the EU Commissioner responsible for agriculture. The sector believes that the proposed changes would have negative effects on employment. However, the sector's demands no longer have the unanimous backing of the Government and the political parties.

The European Commission's proposals to reform the Common Market Organisation (CMO) for olive oil has led to a serious dispute in Spain. In April 1997 the first details of this proposal were published and met practically unanimous rejection. Organisations of farm owners, cooperatives and trade unions came together in the Oil Committee (Mesa del Aceite) to organise protests and to coordinate the demands of the sector. The Government, opposition parties and autonomous communities (regional governments) also expressed their disagreement (ES9704209N). In November 1997, the Spanish demands were expressed in the report produced by a Member of the European Parliament for the United Left (Izquierda Unida) party, Salvador Jové, which received the backing of the European Parliament.

Despite all this, Franz Fischler, the member of the European Commission responsible for agriculture has still not accepted the Spanish demands: in January 1998 a draft proposal was leaked to the press and once again met a strong reaction from Spanish olive farmers.

The basic problem, as perceived by the olive-growing sector, remains unchanged: the economic and social importance of olive-growing in Spain has not been recognised. Spain is the largest producer of olive oil in the world. The olive groves are mainly concentrated in Andalusia and - to a lesser extent - Extremadura, two of the poorest regions in Spain with the highest unemployment levels and a great dependence on agriculture, within which olive-growing plays a fundamental role. The production of oil and olives follows largely traditional patterns: large estates, technical backwardness, dependence on the climate, intensive use of temporary personnel and poor working conditions. However, in recent years there has been an important transformation in the sector, with an increase in the number of trees and in the productivity of the crops. Production is rising, despite ups and downs due to drought, and there are no problems of surpluses. However, employment prospects are less clear: the boom in the sector favours employment, but technical improvements save jobs.

The Oil Committee believes that the draft proposal for the reform of the CMO will hinder expansion in the sector and so would have very negative effects on employment. The criticisms concentrate on two points:

• The Spanish quota for establishing subsidies to production. The Committee does not question the change from the system of a Community quota to national quotas, but it considers that the quota proposed for Spain (538,000 tonnes a year) is very low and asks for it to be adjusted to the real average Spanish production: more than 800,000 tonnes a year (950,000 in 1997). Only in this way would the future of all the olive groves be guaranteed.

• The change from a system of subsidies for production to a system of subsidies per tree that the draft intends to make effective in 2000. The Committee maintains that, provided it respects the real potential of the sector, the system of subsidies for production is far more beneficial for production and employment. Subsidies per tree do not protect real production or promote the quality of the product, could favour the appearance of speculative plantations and involve a high risk of job losses, rural depopulation and deterioration of the environment. It is feared, moreover, that the tree census is not adjusted to the reality of the sector in Spain.

The Oil Committee is preparing new protest rallies that were due to begin on 27 February in the main Andalusian cities and end on 17 March in Brussels, one day before the Commissioner makes public his definitive proposal. The demands of the Committee, however, no longer have such unanimous backing in Spain as they did a few months ago. The CMO oil reform is beginning to create tension between the Government and the opposition and amongst the different autonomous communities. The problem is based on the choice between giving priority to economic factors or social factors in establishing subsidies to the sector.