"Competition distorted"

How local vegetable farmers are being tricked

Despite state-of-the-art agricultural technology, enormous amounts of fuel are consumed, which is paid for more abroad than here in Germany.(Bild: Christof Birbaumer)

Domestic vegetable growers denounce a massive distortion of competition that is not being combated by the EU, but rather apparently tolerated: "We would have no problem at all asserting ourselves against foreign competition if there were uniform rules of the game!"

Land consumption, labor shortages, energy costs, inflation and a product that can be traded across national borders in a short space of time: Fruit and vegetable producers are groaning under enormous competitive pressure, which is exacerbated by inequalities between EU countries. Just how precarious the situation really is is now shown by a list of demands from Tyrolean farmers to politicians, who have apparently ignored these problems to date.