Hello, hello! How's your Saturday going?
Here, we wake up, as always, with our notebook in hand, but also with the news.
As you know, at Campos del Abuelo, we are several farmers from all over the peninsula. We cultivate as our grandparents did and sell directly from the fields to your table to ensure a fair price.
With no more unnecessary trips and with the fresh flavor 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 short distances. It's not a whim or a trend. Fewer roads mean livelier fruit, perkier vegetables, less cold from trucks, and a real impact on our communities.
But, since yesterday, the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur has been looming large, and let's be honest: it pushes in the opposite direction. More open doors to products coming from very far away.
I want to explain it calmly because it's easy to fall for headlines, and here there are no good guys and bad guys. We respect our colleagues from all over the world because we know what their work entails. They get up before the sun, battle the weather, and make a living from the land just like us.
The issue is not the people who cultivate, but the rules of the game that are agreed upon at tables where we are never seated. 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 dismayed 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 that allow for large-scale production, the cost of labor is lower, water is often more accessible, and the procedures and demands 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 meticulous, and an environmental commitment that we accept because we believe in leaving the land better than we found it. But all of that comes at a price. And competing only on price is like playing a game with the wind against you.
When you open the door wider, a lot of low-priced products come in, and on the shelf, the small origin label 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 that things can be done differently.
We can promote that local and well-made products are recognized and paid what 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 best. Sow, care, harvest on demand, and send it directly. We believe in what gives meaning to our way of working. Each order is a vote of confidence in this way of life.
Hopefully, the day will come when decisions made far away will 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, as it's time to organize the harvests for the coming week. The field doesn't wait, and neither do we.
A big hug and have a lovely week. We'll read each other soon.
