Regarding the article by María Ramírez (Why is Spain’s economy booming? Thanks to migration – which proves xenophobia doesn’t pay, 19 February), Spain received nearly 64,000 irregular migrants in 2024 – most arriving by sea at the Canary Islands (46,843). Many migrants from West Africa and Morocco who arrive in Spain end up working in greenhouse agriculture in Almería, where around 25,000-30,000 jobs are filled by undocumented migrants, paid well below the minimum wage and forced to live in unsanitary conditions in slums.
Those who survive the journey to Spain (10,457 drowned in 2024) face exploitation here by industries like the intensive agriculture that provides more than 1.6m tonnes of fruit and vegetables each year to the UK. Working in the greenhouses in Almería’s “sea of plastic” involves long hours, searing heat and exposure to toxic agrochemicals, leading to deaths and illness.
