The ship of l'Esplet, for sale for five million euros

PalmThe sale of the warehouse and the rustic land that the Poblera company l'Esplet was exploiting is now the last chapter in the disappearance of a benchmark in the Balearic countryside. At the beginning of the month, the closure of the company and the dismissal of the 19 workers due to economic problems were made public. Now, two weeks later, the company is putting the warehouse and land up for sale for five million euros.

The announcement, published on the real estate portal Idealista, explains that the space has two plots (one industrial and one rustic). Specifically, the owners detail that the industrial plot has 5,385 m² of land and 3,991 m² built and assure that it is "ideal for logistics, commercial or productive projects". On the other hand, they explain that the rustic plot, with a current declaration of general interest, has 13,085 m² of surface area and 3,107 m² built, and that, therefore, it is "perfect for complementary developments". In addition, they offer the option to buy only the industrial part for more than three million euros.

It is worth remembering that this same month of March, the agricultural cooperative s'Esplet of sa Pobla closed definitively due to the loss of members, internal disagreements, and the impossibility of formalizing the sale of its facilities. The SAT, which had reduced its members to only seven people, laid off its 19 workers and has stopped producing and exporting potatoes. This closure represents a new blow to the agri-food sector of Mallorca, after just over a month ago the closure of the Agama factory and the departure of the Laccao brand as a Mallorcan product were announced. closure of the Agama factory and the departure of the Laccao brand as a Mallorcan product.

Laccao

Attacks and accusations between political parties

MÉS per Mallorca has criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for the sale of shares in s'Esplet, the cooperative from sa Pobla which has now gone bankrupt and has its premises for sale for five million euros. According to the party, in 2023 the Director General of Agriculture, Fernando Fernández, decided to divest itself of the 11.8% of shares held by the Government, valued at 336,000 euros, which were sold for only 120,000. The beneficiaries were other shareholders, including an agricultural businessman linked to the PP and employers' associations in the sector. MÉS points out that, if the Government had maintained its stake, it would now have earned 590,000 euros, while the profits have gone to third parties.

The President of the Government, Marga Prohens, has defended her executive's actions, assuring that everything possible has been done to maintain the agri-food industry, and has criticized MÉS per Mallorca for questioning decisions from previous legislatures, recalling that the final responsibility rests with the counselors and the presidency, not just the director general. Thus, a cross-accusation is drawn: MÉS denounces arbitrary and prejudicial management for the public interest, while Prohens defends the transparency and responsibility of the current Government, highlighting the continuity of the agri-food policy.

S'Esplet, a benchmark in the sector that is disappearing

S’Esplet was born in 1993 as the third attempt to keep potato production alive in sa Pobla, after the bankruptcy of previous cooperatives that had not managed to consolidate the sector. For years, the cooperative received public subsidies and government participation that allowed its agricultural activity, but over time it lost members and productive capacity. Furthermore, it generated controversy due to internal management and the influence of the leadership on the cooperative's decisions, which weakened its structure and limited the succession of new players in the sector.

Throughout its trajectory, s’Esplet became a benchmark for the export of Mallorcan potatoes to demanding European markets, combining industrial and rustic land and investing in its own machinery and logistics to guarantee the quality and distribution of the product. Despite these investments, internal conflicts, retirements, and the withdrawal of institutional support generated a situation of vulnerability that has culminated in its closure. The planned sale process to preserve activity and jobs did not materialize, leaving a void in the local agri-food sector and highlighting the difficulties of traditional cooperatives in Mallorca to survive in a globalized market.