Antonio Bonny“The lack of compliance by the administrations has taken us to an extreme situation”.

Antonio Bonny leads the Bonny Group with his brother José Juan, the agricultural company founded by his father, Juliano Bonny, in 1935. The businessman explains the dispute that the fruit and vegetable export sector has with both the Government of the Canary Islands and the central government., and reaffirms the profitability and future of agriculture on the islands.

We are in dispute with the Canary Islands Government because it has not fulfilled its commitments in relation to the Tomato Strategic Plan. 2009. It was because of this lack of compliance that the Government of Madrid decided not to fulfill its commitments as of 2011. And this has brought us to an extreme situation., with an accumulated debt of around 20 million.

In addition, there are transportation compensations that depend on the Ministry of Development.. These have been drastically reduced since 2012, when the government changed. So much so that, yes by law we should be charging the 70% of the costs involved in putting the product in Cádiz, This year we will only enter 29%.

I.e., the 5% plus, yes, than last year. Although everything is said, the 29% of this year, at least, We have already collected it thanks to the mediation of the Government delegate. The Minister of Development has committed to the sector for next year's budgets to increase the amount until 70%.

[quote]We are talking about a serious topic: without sufficient transport compensation, the one that appears in the law, the sector is doomed to disappearance, because the cost of delivering the product to its destination is too high.[/quote]

And that's not to mention that we buy our supplies at a much higher price than our competitors.: phytosanitary, Fertilizers or cardboard packaging have an added cost due to our island status.. We are operating with minimal margins. If we also have an extra cost of 30% In transport to our European markets it is impossible for us to compete.

This reduction in margins is not only serious because it affects current products, but because it stops us from the possibility of diversifying with gender like melons, watermelons, broccoli, lettuce, etc. Products with which we could make the sector more competitive. But for that we need to be competitive in the markets. And have margins.

The advantage of the Canary Islands is that while you enjoy a mild winter climate and it is cold in Europe, at least for a few weeks, will still have possibilities. But the situation is complex.

To start, On the continent we suffer agricultural overproduction all year round. Ours is a very productive agriculture in all types of products, and demand is stagnant because populations do not grow except in age. And it is already known that the older one gets, the less one consumes..

There is also the problem of supermarkets fighting to have the best price.. We farmers are really crushed, because all supermarkets want to have the most competitive price. To cite an example: There is a chain in England that has had a guaranteed price of 50 pennies a piece of cucumber, what has dragged down the competition. And this leads us to sell it at that price even in winter, when the price could rise to more than 90 pennies.

Canarian agriculture has three pillars. The fundamental today is the banana, which is maintained thanks to the subsidy it receives from Europe. This is a business that has a future until at least 2020.

The other export pillar is tomatoes and cucumbers. In this case, if aid is maintained, especially transportation compensation at the level established by law, It is a profitable activity despite the competition with Morocco and the south of the peninsula. In recent years, the decrease in hectares has been drastic, because the aid promised by the administrations has not arrived. If they arrived, since the economy in the country is going to improve, the trend of surface decrease is going to disappear.

Finally, there are locally produced agriculture and livestock. The level of self-sufficiency in the Canary Islands is very small, between 10% and the 15% of consumption. This agriculture needs support and planning that it does not have.. Administrations must provide alternatives to local producers, explain which products are in deficit and give producers an incentive to produce them.

Because we have another problem, which is the aging of producers and the lack of generational renewal..

If the aid provided for in the POSEI were fulfilled, would be enough to maintain the activity and increase it with other products. If Europe allows state aid and it does not arrive, is when the situation of the sector becomes practically unviable. The answer is that if the conditions are met, of course the sector is viable.: we have all the strength to compete.

Let's be aware of one thing: Canarian agriculture is subsidized. But in the same way that agriculture is subsidized anywhere in the world. The 50% of European funds goes to agriculture, yes. But the agriculture with the most aid in the world is the American one. And so, without taking into account the limitations imposed on importation, that prevent us from exporting to that country.

The point is that we are not just talking about agriculture, it is not just about maintaining an economic sector: We are talking about something as crucial as feeding a population. And sufficient food is the sine quanon condition for stability in a territory., especially if it is an island.

[quote]If the aid provided for in the POSEI were fulfilled, They would be enough to maintain the activity and increase it with other products.[/quote]

And guaranteeing a minimum level of supply requires a degree of subsidies.. That's why there is no country that doesn't do it.. and these, the compensation we receive in the Canary Islands, let's not forget, They are aid that is approved by the Spanish Congress of Deputies, approved by the EU and included in the Economic and Fiscal Regime of the Canary Islands.

Is the importance of agriculture valued enough?

It is possible that not. Perhaps its importance is not seen only if you look at the numbers of its contribution to the GDP.. But if, if you see the labor used and the fact that in addition, provides a degree of diversification compared to the economic monoculture that tourism represents.

bioflavorAs the tomato sector has died, I have not seen any tears shed by any administration., and I don't really understand why. It is a sector that has been competitive for many years in the most competitive market in the world, which is Europe., marketing our products in the main supermarkets in Germany, United Kingdom or Sweden, and it is essential that it remains that way. It would be a serious problem from a social point of view if export agriculture were lost.

And not only that: Many other auxiliary industries depend on agriculture, such as packaging., on which we spend several million euros. We have set up our own logistics capable of transporting our tomatoes or cucumbers to the furthest point of Europe in the Arctic Circle in a week..

Ours is not just an agricultural activity, It is also an industrial activity. We don't live off subsidies: we have to fight day by day, we have to meet customer requirements, fight for market niches, present products in dozens of formats, monitor sugar levels, plan marketing strategies...

In addition, the advertising we do, which is not much, We do it in destination countries with Proexca and Icex: Sweden, Germany, England… We don't advertise here because this is not our market.

Sometimes it happens to us that we want to promote a product as a Canarian product and the national authorities force us to promote it as a Spanish product.. Which works against us., because we position ourselves as a Canarian product, with different characteristics from the rest of the Spanish territory.

Not in vain, worldwide the medium-sized tomato, perfect red color and intense flavor is called a canary type tomato. We attend fairs in Spain and abroad, like the one in Berlin, and we work with the canarian brand.