Hello, hello. How's your Saturday going?
Here, as always, we wake up with a notebook in hand, but also with the news.
As you know, {name}, at Campos del Abuelo, we are several farmers from all over the peninsula. We cultivate as our grandparents did, and we sell directly from the fields to your table to ensure fair prices.
With no more unnecessary trips and with the fresh flavor that you notice as soon as you open the box.
And let me tell you why I'm talking about trips…
At Campos del Abuelo, we believe that food should travel only a few kilometers. It's not a whim or a trend. Less road means livelier fruit, more vibrant vegetables, less cold from the truck, and a real impact on the environment of our towns.
However, since yesterday, the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur has been gaining strength, and let's be honest: it pushes exactly in the opposite direction. More open doors for products coming from far away.
I want to explain it calmly because it's easy to get caught up in headlines, and there are no good guys and bad guys here. We respect our colleagues from all over the world because we know what their work is like. They wake up before the sun, battle the weather, and live off the land just like us.
The issue is not the people who cultivate, but the rules of the game agreed upon at tables where we are never invited. What hurts is the feeling that decisions are made without listening to those who irrigate at night or those who risk their harvest in a heatwave.
And when that happens, the local countryside is left looking glum while the game continues.
The big question is why their prices are lower. The answer is less romantic than it seems. There are giant farms there that allow for large-scale production, labor costs are lower, water is often more accessible, and the procedures and requirements are not always as intense as they are here. It all adds up, and the cost per kilo goes down.
In Spain, we work with constant controls, European salaries, expensive energy, droughts that force us to be precise, and an environmental commitment that we accept because we believe in leaving the land better than we found it. But all of that has a price. And competing solely on price is like playing a game against the wind.
When you open the door wider, a lot of low-priced products come in, and on the shelf, the small label of origin sometimes matters less than the big number. And of course, that's where our margins tremble.
Don't get me wrong. Trade moves the world, and I'm not saying we should close windows. I'm saying things can be done differently.
We can promote that local and well-made products are recognized and paid for as they deserve. And we can also help the agricultural sector reorganize where necessary, joining forces, seeking higher-value niches, and explaining what we do more clearly.
We will continue doing what we know how to do. Sow, care, harvest on demand, and send directly. We are committed to what gives meaning to our way of working. Every order is a vote of confidence in this way of life.
Hopefully, the day will come when decisions made far away take into account the mud on our boots.
Thank you for being by our side. It gives us life to know that behind every box there is a family that values what we do.
Now I'll leave you; it's time to organize the upcoming week's harvests. The field doesn't wait, and neither do we.
A big hug, and have a beautiful week. We'll read each other soon.
