Mérida (EFE).- The tomato harvesting campaign in Extremadura will involve the use of 100,000 vehicles for its transport from July to September, with an expected global load of some two million tons.
The Government delegate in Extremadura, Francisco Mendoza, who chaired this Wednesday the preparatory meeting on the transport generated by this campaign, explained that it includes not only the production generated in Extremadura but also the product that arrives from other territories for its transformation. in the region, which represents the load of 500,000 tons more than last year.
This increase occurs, among other things, due to the higher production forecast during the campaign in the autonomous community.
The objective of this meeting and the campaign that is developed is to avoid the risk of accidents that can be generated through the transport of this product, especially due to the fall of tomatoes on the roads.
In this regard, last year’s evaluation allows for a “quite positive” balance, because although the increase in controlled vehicles led to an increase in the number of complaints (from 520 to 635), accidents were reduced (from four in 2021 to two last year). last year), none of them with notable incidents.
In turn, rapid intervention actions after tomato spills on roads that interrupt the normal development of traffic decreased from 62 to 46.
The most common infractions are due to excess cargo, although in terms of its correct placement, producers and carriers “have become aware” in the absence of a notable increase in infractions.
Mendoza has also made a call for the perfect condition of the vehicle, especially with regard to the tires.
The president of Apag Extremadura Asaja, Juan Metidieri, has stated, for his part, that these types of meetings are “very positive” due to the data that has been reflected in recent times, also the result of the “effort” made by producers and carriers .
However, it has called for this type of initiative to be “more to warn than to sanction”, since last year, with a “shorter” campaign, there were seven percent more controlled vehicles and 20 percent more of sanctioned
Representatives of State security forces and bodies or agrarian organizations participated in the meeting.