FARMERS had just begun harvesting olives in southern Spain when United States (US) president Donald Trump soured the mood with the announcement that Washington would slap hefty tariffs on their produce.
“We are really worried,” said Carlos Carreira at his 130 hectare (320 acre) olive grove near the town of Antequera in the southern region of Andalusia.
Spain is the world’s biggest producer of olive oil, and the bulk of it comes from Andalusia, where hills and plains are dotted with olive trees with their distinctive gnarled trunks.
“Already last year prices were sometimes so low that they did not cover production costs. If we add to this a sharp rise in the price of our products in the United States, many farms may end up not being viable,” Carreira added.
Several thousand olive growers, many waving olive branches marched through Madrid on Thursday to protest plunging prices and demand protection from a 25 percent tax which the US is planning to impose from Oct. 18.
The fresh tariffs announced Oct. 2 target some European Union agricultural and industrial products – including Spanish olives and olive oil – worth $7.5 billion (6.8 billion euros).
The tariffs are in retaliation for subsidies given by Brussels to aircraft maker Airbus. (AFP)
