The biggest problem for agriculturalists in this region is normally the quantity and the quality of the water they get to irrigate their crops. This year however, the main problem facing them is the price that they are getting at market for their produce.
Yellow melons, for example, which cost 12 to 15c per kilo to grow are fetching 8c per kilo at market. Tomatoes cost 20c per kilo to raise which is the same price they are sold for. It is just as bad for the growers who produce green melons because they cost 5c per kilo more than they sell for.
To make matters worse for the tomato growers. they are suffering a plague of "Tutta Absoluta" which hatches its larvae in the plants causing a loss of between 30 and 40 percent of the crop.
To solve this dilemna, the growers are demanding a minimum price for each crop that will at least allow them to make a living.
PS Whilst we were at Orihuela market, I noticed a lady selling melons at 3 for 1€ who was still struggling to find customers. I suspect that they were too cheap making people suspicious of their quality.
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