- This is clear from the study of stone fruit production costs corresponding to the 2024 campaign, drawn up by the Department, together with IRTA’s CREDA and the UPC, and presented today in Lleida
- This study, as well as the one corresponding to grapes that will be presented soon, aims to bring greater transparency to the food chain
- New studies for other products will be prepared soon, and the information will be updated annually.
The Secretary of Food of the Departament d’Acció Climàtica, Alimentació i Agenda Rural, Carmel Mòdol, accompanied by the general director of Empreses Agroalimentàries, Qualitat i Gastronomia, Joan Gòdia, and together with the director of the Centre de Recerca en Economia i Desenvolupament Agroalimentari (CREDA) of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA) and the UPC, José María Gil, have presented, at the Department’s headquarters in Lleida, the study of stone fruit production costs corresponding to the campaign 2024, which the Department has drawn up together with CREDA.
The Secretary of Food has remarked on the importance of having this information, “it is essential to bring transparency to the food chain, from production to distribution and consumption, all links need to know this official estimate of the cost to produce a kilo of stone fruit. And in this line they will always find the Department next to them with their commitment to enable tools that promote a fair and decent price for production and fight against the precariousness of the strategic and vital work and contribution of this sector, contributing to the economic sustainability“.
Mòdol has emphasized that apart from this study of production costs, the one corresponding to grapes will soon be presented, which will be followed by others relating to other products, and whose information will be updated annually, all in all it is “a new it shows that the Department works together with agri-food producers, agricultural organizations, and the world of research to provide the market with more tools and greater transparency“.
He also recalled that the Department has always considered the food chain law insufficient since it was approved by the Congress of Deputies, “we have always wanted and demanded that the official bodies involved publish annually the cost of food production so that all the links in the chain, and thus avoid situations that unfairly occur year after year and that make the work of farmers and their economic viability precarious. Apart from complying with the law of the chain, it is necessary to guarantee that they perceive the fair price in order to be able to deal with the increase in costs and other unwanted situations that they have to assume and thus ensure the costs, make their work, their production, and their family economically viable“.
For his part, the director of CREDA, José María Gil, has noted the 17% increase in production costs per hectare and 11% in costs per kg, between the average of the period 2018-2022 and estimate for the year 2024.
Gil also pointed out that the stone fruit production cost study presents the results of the cost estimation for peach and nectarine, with the information available regarding the harvest forecast in July 2024. Thus, the cost of estimated production for farmers would be an average of 0,440 €/kg, with a fork between the minimum cost, 0,417 €/kg, and the maximum, 0,464 €/kg; data that serves as a guide to determine approximate reference costs taking into account the production of each farm and the expenses inherent in the characteristics of each campaign. And if the expenditure on family labour and the cost of making are taken into account, the production cost would rise to 1,080 €/kg, with a fork between the minimum and maximum cost of 0,980 €/kg in 1,198 €/kg.
| €2024/KG | 2024 COST (ESTIMATION) |
| Average estimated performance (kg/ha) | 22.642 |
| CS139 Specific costs of cultivation | 0,235 |
| CS420 General costs | 0,205 |
| Specific costs of cultivation + General costs | 0,44 (0,417-0,464)* |
| CS601 Family labour | 0,083 |
| Total cost (CS139+CS420+CS601) €/kg | 0,524 (0,493-0,554)* |
| Manufacturing cost €/kg | 0,488 (0,423-0,572) |
| Cost at Central Exit** €/kg made-up | 1,080 (0,980-1,198) |
Notes:
*Minimum cost – Maximum cost
**13% has been added to the cost per kg harvested to incorporate losses in the manufacturing input (wastes)