US closes its borders to the Spanish pepper: why they vent their entrance

US closes its borders to the Spanish pepper: why they vent their entrance

Just a few hours after Donald Trump’s possession, on January 16, the United States administration communicated the border closure to the export window of the Spanish pepper. An unexpected announcement that, in the middle of the campaign, broke the commercial agreements that agricultural companies had with their American customers and prevented peppers that were already on their way, could not be discharged in their destination.

This decision of the US government It fell like a jug of cold water over the thousands of farmers of El Ejido, in the province of Almería, one of the main producing areas worldwide for fruits and vegetables, with pepper as a star product, and the only one along with Alicante that has accreditation to export This product to the American country.

José Manuel Manzano, farmer, assures Newsstrobajo That this decision affects directly on the sector, “since it affects us economically.” And although the American is not the market to which the most agricultural product is exported, this agreement does imply large amounts of money for companies or cooperatives, which “6,000 euros can have been spent per hectare to adapt and certify the greenhouse, so that now they can be able to send the genre to the US”points out.

In fact, only between December 1, 2024 and January 16, 2025, it has been exported around one million kilos to the US A figure that could double at the end of the campaign, scheduled for April 30, if the agreement resumed.

They demand to resume negotiations

In addition to the great economic losses That the border closure would mean for the sector, this decision not only affects farmers and the marketing companies, but also the entire value chain. From carriers to packaging companies, both dependent on the stability of foreign trade to maintain their operations.

Therefore, both the Junta de Andalucía, and the City of El Ejido or Coexphal (Association of Organizations of Fruit and Vegetable Producers of Almería) have joined their efforts to urge the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to resume negotiations with the US and this situation can be reversed. “We see too often how any commercial war that the United States begins with Europe, ends up paying the agriculture of Andalusia,” laments Ramón Fdez-Pacheco, Minister of Agriculture of the Board, ensuring that “We are not going to tolerate it”.

For his part, Francisco Góngora, mayor of El Ejido, launched an awareness message, through social networks, on a sector “that leaves the skin working, innovating, taking care of quality and that generates a lot of employment”.

Why the US closes the door to the Spanish pepper

During the last fifteen days since the border closure was announced, they have been carried out negotiations that seem to be paying off, although the situation has not yet been resolved.

And is that The new federal regulations imposed a new requirement for the importation of the Almeria pepper. Specifically, Spain had to coordinate with the APHIS (health inspection service) to develop an operational work plan (POO), in which its commitments would be defined to comply with the new regulations, including measures such as the prohibition of entry of the entry of the Fruit fly through the greenhouse. But since this plan was still in a state of review, US authorities decided to suspend the import campaign unilaterally.

On January 24, the POO signed after approval was sent to the US, and Coexphal offered as a volunteer to manage a fund for US inspections that reach the greenhouses in the province, thus complying with all the requirements required by the American authorities.