The Minister of Agriculture of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, said this Thursday, before the ban on importing potatoes from England, that the Canary Islands Executive defends the ministerial order of 1987 that protects the Canary Islands market against pests but has asked that the border limitation be clarified so that the ban does not affect the entire United Kingdom.
Canarias imports English potatoes in September, while in October they arrive mostly from Scotland.
Quintero made these statements during his visit to one of the fruit and vegetable farms of the Agrarian Transformation Society, SAT, together with the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, and the President of GOAG Canarias, Rafael Hernández.
The counselor has said that faced with this situation, which implies an "economic and sanitary loss", other markets are being sought with local producers and importers, but he has insisted that the most serious problem is not the supply of current consumption, but the planting of the seed of the next harvest, which the Canary Islands brings from the United Kingdom in 90 percent.
The Spanish Government has prohibited potato exports from England due to the presence of the Colorado beetle pest in the production of that country, which affects, according to the ministerial order that regulates this type of situation, all production from the United Kingdom.
Narvay Quintero: "We have to reflect to bet on local production"
In this sense, Quintero has asked the Government of Spain, which is the one that has the powers in this matter, to separate England from the rest of the United Kingdom. "This is how the rest of Europe does it, and it will allow us to bring seed potatoes," he said.
The counselor has launched a message of tranquility and has said that, even so, the importers have looked for potatoes that are already arriving so that the market is reorganized in the next few days.
Narvay Quintero added that "this situation, which puts such an essential food for the Canarians, such as potatoes, in check, should make us reflect when betting on agriculture and local production".
"In the future we could supply 100% of the annual potato market, now we do it in 70%, and we have to encourage it," he said.
