Spain's largest farming organisations have turned up the heat on the government, demanding emergency financial support to cushion the blow from production costs that have spiralled since the outbreak of war in Iran. On Tuesday, the heads of Asaja, COAG, UPA, Unión de Uniones and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias met Agriculture Minister Luis Planas in Madrid to press for what they call "immediate" direct aid, arguing that the country's food sovereignty is now at stake.
The encounter followed a warning from Asaja, COAG and UPA that they will call farmers onto the streets unless the executive acts on what they describe as a critical situation in the countryside. It also lands at an awkward moment for the government, which is still deciding whether to extend beyond 30 September the economic support currently propping up several productive sectors.
A united front with diverging demands
Speaking before the meeting, Asaja president Pedro Barato said the measures on the table must be "sufficient" to offset a near-50% jump in the price of agricultural diesel since the conflict began. Without them, he warned, as much as 40% of crops – mainly arable – could be left unsown, setting the stage for another round of consumer price increases. Barato also complained that aid promised to cover fertiliser costs has reached only half of the farmers originally targeted. "Compensation is essential if agriculture is to survive," he said. "Either they compensate us or, as far as Asaja is concerned, the protests will continue."
COAG's secretary general, Andrés Góngora, went further, saying thousands of hectares risk being left unsown unless a "robust, reliable package of measures" is agreed. He called for up to 70% of the diesel price increase to be offset – the maximum margin permitted under EU rules – alongside extra support for fertilisers and agricultural plastics.
UPA's Cristóbal Cano described the meeting as a "direct consequence" of the protest announcement and called the diesel situation "unsustainable". He was the only leader to offer a concrete funding mechanism: a special levy on the profits of Spain's major oil companies, whose practices he said should be investigated, to finance a compensation fund for farmers.
Luis Cortés of Unión de Uniones pointed to a structural flaw: farms cannot pass rising costs on to the final price of their products because, he argued, the Food Chain Law is not being enforced. He demanded deep structural fixes, such as a professional diesel rate, rather than "sticking plasters", and threatened to back nationwide protests already called in several autonomous communities.
Cooperativas Agroalimentarias completed the show of unity. Its president, Ángel Villafranca, noted that a large share of the costs borne by farms and cooperatives – transport, energy – "are beyond their control", and called for compensation to cover that increase. Otherwise, he warned, harvesting will become more expensive and the extra cost will eventually reach the shopping basket, something for which the sector "is not responsible". Until now, he acknowledged, farms and the cooperative industry have absorbed much of the increase themselves.
The meeting came a day after Planas, together with deputy prime minister and finance minister Carlos Cuerpo, sat down with representatives of the food industry, cereal traders and fertiliser manufacturers to assess how input costs are evolving. Afterwards, the government signalled a willingness to support the sector "beyond the response plan" already activated to deal with the war's impact.
Timing is critical. The diesel spike coincides with the grape harvest and the start of the olive and winter cereal campaigns, while at sea fuel costs have risen by more than 85%, forcing vessels to tie up in several ports. The pressure is not confined to Spain: across Europe, diesel refining costs are set to peak in October, and in France pump prices have already topped €2.41.
A global shock felt in Spanish fields
What Spanish farmers are demanding is the local expression of a tension that has gripped global markets for months. The war erupted on 28 February, when the United States and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran responded with missiles against Israeli and US bases, triggering a military escalation that threatens nearly a fifth of the world's oil that moves through the Strait of Hormuz. As Ireland's finance minister has noted, the Hormuz closure, not Ukraine, is now driving Europe's energy crisis.
Since then, oil prices have swung violently: before the offensive a barrel traded below $70 (€61), shortly afterwards it neared $120 (€104), before settling around $90 (€79). For Spain's farmers, that volatility translates into diesel bills they say they cannot absorb – and a political deadline they intend to enforce.
