The president of ACOR, Jesús Posadas, has expressed his “concern” about sugar imports from Ukraine, of which an “important part does not have tariffs” and has increased “almost tenfold” after the agreements reached in the European Union , and for the possible consequences if a trade agreement is finally reached between the European Union and Mercosur, which could cause “very serious harm” to farmers and citizens.
“We are very concerned about these issues for the beet growers and farmers of Castilla y León,” said the president of the Valladolid cooperative at the press conference following the celebration in Olmedo (Valladolid) of the General Assembly of Delegates, in which The accounts for the last fiscal year 2023-24 have been approved, which showed a profit before taxes of 15.4 million.
In this regard, Posadas has considered that the “harm” of Ukrainian sugar and other products such as cereal have been suffering for two campaigns now and the agreements made in Brussels to support the “Ukrainian friends” mean that the Castilian countryside is “little defended” in “favor of other benefits that are taken into consideration in the capital of Belgium.”
Along the same lines, he referred to Mercosur as another of the cooperative’s “big concerns,” an agreement that “seems to be close to being signed.” “We are surprised that the Ministry of Agriculture takes it as an achievement and celebrates it, because for the beet grower of Castilla y León this agreement represents a big problem”, he went into depth, to the extent that the European market is “quite saturated” so prices will have to be lowered.
“Very serious damage”
Regarding this issue, Posadas explained that for European citizens there are “very important” issues that should also concern the people of Castile-Leon, such as the need to that the entry of products from third countries without mirror clauses is not allowedwhich “also do not appear in the Mercosur agreements.”
In this way, “very serious damage” is done to the farmer, the president of ACOR has specified, while there is talk of “social dumping” and health problemssince in these countries the same control and prevention measures are not required as in the European Union.
“What makes me very funny is that we are defending food security, which is very good for us all, and in the end we are consuming products from third countries that do not have it and that certainly do not inform us,” analyzed Jesús Posadas, time that has indicated that losing food security in Europe and the mirror clauses represents a “very important loss” for all European citizens and farmers.
Fifth year with benefits
On the other hand, the Assembly of ACOR Delegates has approved the accounts for the last fiscal year 2023-24, which showed a profit before taxes of 15.4 million, while the direct turnover of the cooperative was 365 million, with all profit-owned companies, which means that it is the fifth consecutive year with positive results.
The ACOR cooperative has set out to find solutions to the generational change suffered by the majority of its members’ farms, and which, without a doubt, is one of the biggest concerns raised for the future of the agricultural sector. For this reason, it has been proposed to create a Working Group of Youth and Women Cooperatives to offer them a training plan, technical knowledge and skills that provide security when facing new challenges, both at the head of the operation and within the ACOR collective.
The initiative aims to be a forum for reflection and a commitment to the cooperative in the short and medium term. “In summary, We want to create a quarry so that they can learn about cooperativism first-hand and are the germ of the future social bodies of ACOR,” said Jesús Posadas. The generational change and optimization in the use of water are two of the most outstanding objectives of the II Strategic Plan (2025-27), whose main lines have been approved during the Assembly of Delegates.
New projects
The Assembly has given the green light to new projects that will improve the efficiency of the cooperative. In line with the decarbonization policy, it will be built a biomass boiler at the Oil and Oilseed Treatment Plant (PTAO) with a thermal power of 10,800 kW. Unlike the one planned for the sugar factory’s industrial facility, in this case the boiler will be the property of ACOR. The commitment is to have it completed and operational in January 2026.
Another renewable energy project is the construction of a floating photovoltaic plant on one of the sugar factory’s ponds. It is an assembly of more than 6,000 modules with an estimated production of 5,500 MW hour per year and will mean a saving of close to 30% on the electricity bill. This plant will be more efficient due to its cooling, it will help save water by reducing evapotranspiration and will improve the quality of what enters the factory.
The approval has also been given to a fuel supply unit with access from the industrial estate road. It is a gas station, self-service station model, which will remain open 24 hours a day 365 days a year with self-payment terminals. This service will be outside the ACOR facilities and will be open to the public, but with special price discounts for members and workers.
After the approval of the new Bylaws in 2023, this year they have begun to be applied: the social vote weighted based on turnover, the increase from 8 to 10 tons of beets with the right to return for participation and the inclusion of an annual maintenance fee to members without activity in the cooperativeamong others. The General Assembly has agreed to set a periodic fee of 120 euros for the year 2025 to collaborate with the fixed costs of the cooperative. Those members who have carried out cooperative activity during the previous financial year will be exempt from paying the fee.
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