Bušs: Latvian Vegetable Growers Need Equal Competition, Not Buyers' Goodwill
Vegetables grown in Latvia struggle to compete with imports, which are often considerably cheaper. Jānis Bušs says growers need equal competition conditions rather than buyers' favour.
Vegetable growers in Latvia are finding it increasingly hard to compete with imported produce, whose price is often significantly lower than that of local goods. The issue is raised by Jānis Bušs, whose views were published by the Latvian news portal Jauns.lv. He argues that the sector needs equal competition conditions rather than the goodwill of buyers.
Potatoes, carrots, cabbages and other vegetables grown in Latvia are not only everyday food products. They are also part of the national economy and of the country's food security, so the position of local growers concerns more than the income of individual farms.
Cooperation is not a given
Cooperation in agriculture is discussed widely, yet joint farming has historically not been taken for granted in Latvia. Bušs notes that Latvians are characterised by a tradition of individual farmsteads. Many people still associate collective farming with the Soviet-era kolkhozes.
According to him, this historical background shapes attitudes towards working together among farmers, while local growers must contend with cheaper imports.
