A delegation from political party, Chega Madeira, visited the Porto Moniz Agricultural Fair last weekend with the aim of listening to the current problems affecting livestock farmers.
In a press statement, the party concluded:
“After 2 years of interregnum due to the pandemic, the Fair returned, and although visiting numbers were high, many farmers complained, saying that nowadays and despite the number of visitors, people lack purchasing power.
Regarding the livestock sector, the complaints were almost always the same, the breeder is not valued and fairly rewarded for his work, it is always the intermediaries who profit most from the meat business, while cattle producers state that nowadays, cattle are only raised in Madeira for love, and not for profit.
Despite the VAT exemption on the purchase of feed, the truth is that in 2021 a kilo of feed cost about €0.22, and now with the effects of the War in Ukraine, the same kg already costs about €0.50, thus making this government measure irrelevant. In addition, they complain that agricultural machinery and equipment were not covered by the same VAT exemption, severely penalising the sector in the current context.
Poultry farmers, are also in the same boat: production costs crush profit when selling the birds. Some producers also mention the difficulties created by the bureaucracy in the animal slaughter process, demanding greater efficiency and transparency throughout the process.
Agricultural farmers and flower growers, complained that the high cost of production factors and the low prices obtained in the sale of their products. They are also being squeezed out by imported inferior flowers, which is crushing the life out of their businesses.
Producers say that nowadays, with the decrease in the purchasing power of Madeirans, customers only value price, they no longer look at the quality or the origin of the product due to financial incapacity.
They buy the cheapest, the most accessible items, even though they know they are buying ‘a pig in a poke’!”
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
