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Gourmet Fruits is growing twice as fast as the market

Gourmet Fruits is growing twice as fast as the market with comprehensive farm-to-fork services, the widest range and punctual deliveries.

Gourmet Fruits is a category manager dedicated to the major supermarket chains in Qatar. Nineteen Al Meera and Geant hypermarkets are exclusively supplied and merchandised with more than 500 daily items. “We supply a lot of airfreighted specialty exotics, fresh cut salads, tomatoes and berries at a very competitive price,” said Ehab Abou Karroum, managing director of Gourmet Fruits.

It also supplies Carrefour, Lulu and Monoprix hypermarkets, among others, as well as the food service branch of several institutions and public companies such as the Hamad hospital and the Qatari GAZ Group.

Gourmet Fruits’ logistics centre is strategically located in the industrial area of the capital city, Doha. “Most of the hypermarkets and supermarkets in Qatar are strategically located in shopping centres in order to achieve successful food retail,” said Karroum. Qatar has 10 large shopping centres in the country.

Daily direct supplies of exotics and organics

Gourmet Fruits employs 300 workers, distributes more than 35,000 tons and generates about €60 million in turnover. A fleet of 35 trucks is used for daily delivery to shops. “Our activity is rapidly expanding by 20-25% per year, while we are seeing market growth in the retail sector of about 10% annually,” reports Karroum.

The company keeps growing twice as fast as the market by maintaining the core values that have been intrinsic to its development, namely providing a wide range of quality produce, guaranteeing dependable, punctual delivery and, most importantly, listening to, understanding and meeting the needs of end customers.

“Our continuous efforts towards building and expanding relationships with our suppliers and growers have enabled us to offer a range of exotic and organic products from around the globe for our elite customers. We feel that part of our ethical obligation to secure the flow of food to our beloved Qatar is achieved by securing dependable sources of suppliers,” Karroum said.

PE

This interview first appeared on page 47 of edition 139 (Sept/Oct 2015) of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read more of that issue online by clicking on the image of it here:

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Rotterdam Cool Port gets underway

Kloosterboer and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are investing in the start of a new cold storage cluster on the City Terminal site in the Waalhaven/Eemhaven: Rotterdam Cool Port. Kloosterboer is setting up a new cold store, specialised in the storage and handling of refrigerated and frozen cargo in reefer containers. Complementary services, such as empty depots and food inspection, will be added in the future.

Kloosterboer and the Port of Rotterdam Authority are investing in the start of a new cold storage cluster on the City Terminal site in the Waalhaven/Eemhaven: Rotterdam Cool Port.

Kloosterboer is setting up a new cold store, specialised in the storage and handling of refrigerated and frozen cargo in reefer containers. Complentary services, such as empty depots and food inspection, will be added  in the future.

“We are extremely proud about the start of Rotterdam Cool Port. We, as a port, have much experience in the cold storage sector and Rotterdam Cool Port is a valuable expansion of operations in this field,” said Ronald Paul, COO at the Port of Rotterdam Authority.

“As this location has many multimodal connections with the container cluster on the Maasvlakte as well as all surrounding Greenports and the final destinations in Europe, Cool Port will make a real contribution to the sustainability and efficiency of the supply chain for fresh produce,” he said.

Operational in 2017

Construction is due to start early next year on the cold store and the layout of the Kloosterboer site. The company is purchasing 5 ha with the option to expand in the future. The terminal is expected to become operational in the course of 2017, with a capacity of 40,000 temperature-controlled pallet spaces to handle at least 400,000 pallets a year.

There is an additional 14,500 m2 approx. to accommodate various services such as packing, sorting and cross-docking. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to set up business at Cool Port. Here, we want to offer our clients the highest possible level of service in the perishable goods sector, via a state-of-the-art terminal,” said Kloosterboer CEO Hans Kroes.

Unique combination

The combination of location and cold storage facility makes Rotterdam Cool Port attractive, the port said in a press release. “Thanks to the location, shippers will no longer need to transport cargo from the terminal to the cold store, so that import and export costs can be substantially reduced. As Rotterdam Cool Port is being developed directly adjacent to container terminals, it will be possible to make optimum use of reefer container equipment. In addition, Rotterdam occupies a prominent position in the cold storage sector because the port serves as the first port of call in Europe for many shipping companies. Speed is crucial for perishable goods. Consequently, a whole range of specialised firms and temperature-controlled storage facilities have established themselves in Rotterdam and the surrounding area through the years,” it said.

Redevelopment

The Province and the Municipality have both granted a subsidy for the redevelopment of a large part of the Eemhaven, with the cool port considered a good use of the newly vacant land. The Province is also contributing towards the access-related infrastructure, in the interests of the Greenports. In addition, it will have a positive impact on employment in the area. It is expected that about 100 people will be working there by 2017.

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The Belgian port of Antwerp is headed for a record year

Antwerp Port Authority reports steady growth in the volume of container freight (up 8.0% in TEU and 5.4% in tonnage) and of liquid bulk (up 7.9%).

The port of Antwerp is on track to close 2015 with a total volume of 200 million tons of freight handled after hitting 156.5 million tons in the first nine months of this year, up 5.5% on the same period last year.

In a press release, the Antwerp Port Authority also said there has also been steady growth in the volume of container freight (up 8.0% in TEU and 5.4% in tonnage) and of liquid bulk (up 7.9%).

source: Port of Antwerp

Containers and breakbulk

Expressed in TEU (twenty-foot equivalent units, i.e. standard containers) the port’s container volume was 7.26 million TEU for January-September, 8.0% above that for the same months last year. In terms of tonnage the volume came to 85,478,483 tons (up 5.4%).

It said that despite declining volumes on trading routes to and from the Far East, in Asian trade the port managed to close the first nine months of 2015 with growth of 6.2%.

In conventional breakbulk, the port had handled 7.3 million tons by the end of September. This was a 1.8% drop in volume and something the authority said was due to “the increasing containerisation of fruit and the consequent fall in conventional handling.”

source: Port of Antwerp

Other key figures:

  • Ro/ro volume: up 2.5% to 3.46 million tons
  • Iron & steel volume: up 2.4% to 4.98 million tons
  • No. of cars handled: down 9.7% to 825,312 vehicles​
     
  • Liquid bulk volume: up 7.9% to 49.8 million tons
  • Oil derivatives: up 4.6% to 35.3 million tons
  • Chemicals: up 23.7% to 10.7 million tons
     
  • Dry bulk: up 2.4% to 10.5 million tons
  • Sand and gravel: up 27.7% to 1.26 million tons
  • Coal: up 12.8% to 1.33 million tons

Seagoing ships

A total of 10,786 seagoing ships have called at the port of Antwerp in the last nine months, 2.5% more than in the same period last year. The gross tonnage rose 7.7% to 271 million GT.

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Avocado: European demand growing by 19%

Avocadoes

The EU continues to rely mostly on overseas sources to feed its growing demand for avocados.

Avocado consumption in the EU is still categorised by imports from countries outside the community to satisfy internal demand, despite the fact that the European producing market is also increasing year after year.

Last year, the EU traded 530,000 tons of avocados, 305,200 t imported and another 225,000 t from the domestic market. In total, this represented a volume of €886,000 last year. Comparing figures for the last three years, we can see that the banana trade has shown an upward trend. In 2012 the total figure was 390,000 tons, of which 173,300 were domestic and 216,800 from abroad. This is an increase of 19% compared to 2013, a year in which demand also grew by double digits + 14%.

If we compare the value in euros of this trade, it obviously also reflects a cash flow boost. In 2012, the total avocado trade in the EU represented 633 billion (302 billion from the domestic market and 331 from abroad). In 2013, 785 billion (365 billion in domestic trade and 420,000 from abroad) and finally, in 2014, 886 billion in total (430 billion from the EU market 456,500 from abroad).

Holland the top supplier

Among countries with avocado imports, Holland leads, with 120,300 tons in 2012, 143,600 in 2013 and 168,700 tons in 2014, reflecting an increase in annual demand of roughly 20,000-25,000 t. Europe’s second largest buyer and consumer of avocado is France, with 94,500 tons of imports in 2012, 100,000 in 2013 and 119,000 in 2014. Next is the UK with 38,000 traded in 2012 ,41,000 t in 2013 and 51,500 in 2014. As for avocado sources, Holland and France rely on foreign markets for their annual consumption of this fruit, the Netherlands with 85% and the UK with 70%. In turn, France shares out the trade 50-50 between domestic and foreign sources. Other avocado consumers in Europe are Spain and Germany.

In 2012 34,000 tons were traded in the Spanish market , in 2013, 41,000 t and in 2014, 52,700 t, mainly sourced from markets outside the EU. The figures for Germany show that in 2012 they traded almost 29,000 t, 31,400 in 2013 and 37,400 in 2014. The Czech Republic is another country mainly supplied by other community countries, with around 19,000 tons, importing hardly anything from abroad. As for Sweden, in 2014 , of the entire 19,300 traded, only 1,068 came from direct imports. Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Italy, Latvia and Lithuania are other countries which, with lower trading volumes, rely more on domestic avocado than externally sourced fruit.

„MV

This article first appeared on page 115 of edition 139 (Sept/Oct 2015) of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read more of that issue online by clicking on its icon here:

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Italian pears recovering in 2015

Opera pear

Based on the initial results of the 2015 crop forecast survey conducted by CSO, a significant drop in yields compared to 2014 is expected for the two main varieties grown in Italy: Abate Fetel and William. These two cultivars account on average for almost 70% of the national pear production and about 75% of the production of Emilia-Romagna, where almost 70% of the world’s pear crop is grown.

Current estimates in EmiliaRomagna show an Abate crop of little over 250,000 tons, almost 10% less than last year. For William pears the data for Emilia-Romagna indicate an availability of just over 100,000 tons, down by 5% on last year and 9% less than the average in recent years. For other minor varieties, after a year of exceptional production in 2014, production is expected to be closer to the norm.

“Baseline data show an okay total production today but it should be noted that some summer varieties already being harvested could lead to the final figures being revised downwards. In the coming days there will be updates of the CSO forecast based on the early product crops,” said Gianni Amidei, president of O.I. Pera.

Opera Consortium brings together Emilia-Romagna producers

This year seems to be one of recovery for the Emilia-Romagna pear sector. After a terrible fall in prices last season, this year it seems they are returning to 2013 levels. At least, this is the impression of the OPERA Consortium, the brand new organisation that brings together some of the leading pear growers in the Po Valley, at the beginning of the season which has just started.

“The first significant variety is Williams, where the harvest is already over,” explained the consortium’s general manager, Luca Granata, “and we can say that the price is slightly better than last year, but too low to be taken as a model. Let’s say that prices have returned to comparable levels to those of two years ago. The volume is in line with expectations, about 208,000- 210,000 tons, i.e. slightly less than that of last season.”

In addition, the record heat of July, which affected all of Italy, had a big impact on the characteristics of the pears. They will have very good aesthetic qualities in the medium sizes thanks to the almost total absence of damage, after the strong hail of September. “The high temperatures of the summer months led to two effects: the average is at least one size smaller and the strong transpiration caused by hot weather has increased the dry matter concentration, giving the fruit a higher sugar content. Its appearance is also good, thanks to the almost total absence of hail damage,” Granata said.

The pear sector has recently been through some very difficult moments: “With about 737,000 tons, Italy is the second largest producer of pears, behind China and ahead of the US, a unique heritage that is not protected as it should be,” Granata said. “Suffice to say that every year, for over 10 years consecutively, the acreage has fallen by 2% due to the crop not being sufficiently profitable for the growers. And each acre lost is 1.5 jobs less on the farms and 0.5 jobs less in the warehouses.

From 1990 to today, in the province of Ferrara alone, the orchard surface area has fallen by about 15,000 acres and the jobs lost have been about 30,000. But no one is talking about it.” Set up at the end of June 2015, OPERA is now the largest Italian cooperative to specialise in the production of pears, with over 1,000 grower members and 18 member companies cultivating an area of 7,527 ha that produces more than 200,000 tons of nine different varieties of pear, sold throughout Italy and in 40 countries around the world. 

GO

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New way to extend shelf life for ready-to-eat fruit and vegetables

With demand growing for ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables – such as peeled and sliced items – the challenge is to minimise development of microorganisms and changes in the colour, taste and structure of the produce.

One of Turkey’s leading food scientists says he has found a new way to extend the shelf life of ready-to-eat fresh fruits and vegetables.

Vural Gökmen’s method involves immersing the cut fruit and vegetables in a solution containing chitosan and ascorbic acid.

A professor in the food engineering department at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Gökmen says in patent application documents that chitosan is an antibacterial substance that also has antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties, while the ascorbic acid enables the chitosan to dissolve in the solution and helps prevent browning of the cut fruit or vegetables.

He says that because these substances pose no harm to health, the fruit and vegetables can be eaten without having to be washed.

With demand growing for ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables – such as peeled and sliced items – the challenge is to minimise development of microorganisms and changes in the colour, taste and structure of the produce.

Vural Gökmen, professor in the food engineering department at Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey

According to Gökmen, various existing methods for extending shelf life are not effective solutions because they cause the natural colours of the produce to deteriorate or cannot preserve its taste. Also, the produce sometimes needs to be washed before being eaten to remove the antimicrobial substances used to extend its shelf life, which in some cases are toxic.

Gökmen said that in his method, the amount of chitosan within the aqueous solution is preferably 10 gram/litre, while that of ascorbic acid can range from 10–50 gram/litre, according to the particular fruit or vegetable.

Tests on pomegranate seeds using his method with a 1% chitosan and 1% ascorbic acid solution found that 3 weeks later there were no microbiological risks and no change in smell, colour or taste in the pomegranate seeds, Gökmen says in documents published by Patentscope.

Image of pomegrante arils by Ramnath Bhat from PUNE, India [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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Suhol controls the entire supply chain

Suhol serves as the full service provider and category manager for the major supermarket chains in Oman, like the 30 Khimji hypermarkets, the largest chain in the country, Al Meera, Lulu, Spinneys (operated by Al Fair) and Spar.

The leading fruit and vegetable provider for the Omani market integrates the entire supply chain from production to import, logistics, wholesale and retail.

“We are the number one supplier of fruit and vegetables for the country, with an estimated 40% market share of imports and 60% of supermarket supplies,” states Abdul Latheef, CEO of Suhol Al Fayha Trading. Suhol serves as the full service provider and category manager for the major supermarket chains in Oman, like the 30 Khimji hypermarkets, the largest chain in the country, Al Meera, Lulu, Spinneys (operated by Al Fair) and Spar.

The company is run by the chairman Zahir Zahran from India and the co-founder Abdul Wahid, the local partner. Both have a vision of serving the Omani population with premium quality products at the most competitive price, via the shortest and most effective supply chain. Suhol provides more than 45,000 tons of premium fruit and vegetables a year to every market segment. Bananas are the top product category by volume, followed by apples, citrus, stone fruit, root vegetables (carrots, garlic, ginger, onions and potatoes) and leaf vegetables.

The main import sources for vegetables are Jordan and Iran in winter, and Holland in summer. Among the leading brands delivered by Suhol in Oman are Zespri kiwis, Apollo apples from New Zealand, Capespan from South Africa, Sun Choice and Ever Season citrus, Fruit Root apples, Dole pineapples (from the Philippines), True Cape apples, Bella apples by Nava (Italy) and Blue Whale and Copex from France. Despite its short shelf life, summer fruit is a major category distributed by Suhol, including peaches and nectarines, will all the supplies coming from nearby countries (Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Turkey and Iran). Suhol’s concern for food safety is also high, since the group is ISO 9001 certified. “Delivering our customers a premium quality service is important for our customers as well.”

Photo courtesy of http://www.suholalfayha.com/gallery.html

A vision of integration and consistent development

Today, the company has more than 656 employees, having doubled in the last decade. “Our mission is also in line with the short and long term goals of consistent integration, aiming to multiply employment opportunities for both locals and expats,” said Latheef. Suhol is also present as an importer and wholesaler in the Al Aweer market of Dubai, Doha and recently Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. “Our long term goal is to establish ourselves as a dedicated, specialist retailer in other markets in the Gulf,” explains Khan.The group has already opened a fruit and vegetable store in Jeddah.

On the logistics side, Suhol runs its own fleet of trucks and has increased its storage capacity to over 2,000 tons. Its logistics centres are based in Sohar and Muscat, with a third one planned to be built in Halban by 2017. The group runs wholesale divisions in the markets of Muscat, Sohar, Nizwa, Salalah and Sur. Suhol is also the largest service provider for institutions and the food service sector. Among the famous brands supplied are KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, Shangri La , Golden Tulip and Crown Plaza.

Retail specialists Suhol handles the entire fruit and vegetable section for its major retail customers, such as Khunji hypermarkets. It provides all the staff and installations, and runs the the supplies and merchandising daily. “We are just renting the space and are running the entire section,” Latheef said. At Khunji hypermarkets, Suhol provides a large assortment of more than 300 items. It also includes local vegetables cultivated in Oman, such as aubergines, okra, capsicums, cucumbers and tomatoes.

“Modern retail chains are generating significant growth for the production business as well,” he said. Indeed, modern retail is growing twice the market average of about 15% every year, and its relative market share within the food retail panorama is still only around 10%. Suhol, for instance, handles the entire category with the fast growing retailer “Anhar Al Fayha,” which is expanding with the launch of other new retail concepts like “Liwa, Bid Bid ad Mabalah” hypermarkets, both opened in 2015. “Anhar Al Fayha is planning to open 5-6 new hypermarkets every year. We are helping them by efficiently handling their fruit and vegetable sections,” Latheef said.

Oman retail panorama, 10% market share


PE

This interview first appeared on page 18 of edition 139 (Sept/Oct 2015) of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read more of that issue online by clicking on the magazine image below.

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Holland working hard to enter new markets and boost consumption

Currently the Fresh Produce Centre is involved in more projects to open up new market possibilities: peppers for China, apples and pears for Colombia, India, Vietnam, South Africa and the USA, onions for Costa Rica and pears for Mexico

„Interview with Peter Verbaas, assistant manager of the Dutch Fresh Produce Centre:

Is the confidence of the Dutch fruit and vegetable sector improving?

From the recently published Agro Confidence Index, it is clear that the Dutch horticultural sector is regaining its confidence. This index – the result of cooperation between the Ministry of Economic Affairs, LTO Nederland (the Dutch agriculture and horticulture federation) and Wageningen University – has risen during the past half year, although not to the level of a year ago. One of the sectors that reportedly has more confidence in the current situation and the longer term is horticulture. At the Fresh Produce Centre, the organisation representing the Dutch fruit and vegetable industry, we too can point to a lot going on in our sector in the wake of the McKinsey report, which states that the sector is under pressure. Many developments are indeed taking place, and there is a lot of discussion about what is the right way forward for the industry.

What is the primary focus in the Dutch industry?

One of the areas of activity is the opening up of markets far from home. As Verbaas says: “The sector has always been looking for new markets and has been involved in projects to open up new markets”. This involves complex discussions between governments in which the Fresh Produce Centre facilitates information. These projects can take as long as seven years, as was the case with opening up the Chinese market for Dutch pears. The Russian boycott has partly been the reason that the authorities are making an extra effort in the development of new market possibilities. Projects that have resulted in opening new markets include Dutch onions to Indonesia and Panama and pears to China and Brazil.

What new market opportunities do you foresee in the near future?

Currently the Fresh Produce Centre is involved in more projects to open up new market possibilities: peppers for China, apples and pears for Colombia, India, Vietnam, South Africa and the USA, onions for Costa Rica and pears for Mexico. “Due to the extra government energy being directed towards opening new markets, the list of current projects is much longer now than it used to be in the past,” says Verbaas. For the near future, some new projects are planned with an explicit focus on tomatoes. However, despite all the effort and the obvious results – a 7.1% increase in export volume during the last three years and the opening of multiple markets for different products – Verbaas observes that current market conditions are not easy. “Harder work is needed to achieve the same results.”

How are you aiming to lift the consumption level?

The Fresh Produce Centre is active in many areas. Nutrition and health is one of them, with a clear focus on developing strategies for market expansion and increased sales. Verbaas explains: “Based on the fact that fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe has been decreasing for years and is linked to the health issues we observe in society, we want to convince consumers of the health aspects of fresh fruit and vegetables and therefore encourage more consumption.” The Fresh Produce Centre has calculated that if the inhabitants of North Western Europe were to consume the recommended 200 grams of vegetables and 2 pieces of fruit daily, then the Netherlands alone would need to produce an extra 3.4 billion kg vegetables and 2.8 billion kg of fruit with an additional commercial value of €7.2 billion. A huge market potential indeed! Verbaas remarked: “We do not focus on product-oriented strategies, but aim to lift the total consumption level.” After the summer a roadshow will start targeting the members of the Fresh Produce Centre and the trade. The goal is to provide communication tools that can be used by the individual companies. “We will start and test the concept in the Netherlands and plan to roll the campaign out to Germany and the rest of Europe. The total volume in the Netherlands is insufficient to create enough impact.”

What are your latest initiatives in food security and sustainability?

Other activities to which the Fresh Produce Centre contributes include the discussion on microbiology and sustainability. In the wake of some international food safety issues in the past, the Fresh Produce Centre signals more awareness of the potential harm to reputation that can occur with food safety emergencies, and therefore an increased focus on microbiology. “The knowledge level has increased by giant leaps. We now have a better knowledge of the risks and this knowledge is valued internationally. The information stresses that hygiene still remains the most important factor,” says Verbaas. Sustainability in all its diversity remains an important topic for the Dutch horticultural sector. Although it can be difficult to decide which measure would be the best alternative for introducing an aspect of sustainability into business operations,  Verbaas observes that this area is brimming with activity and initiatives. “Programme owners like GlobalG.A.P. are investigating the possibilities and we are stimulating companies: we have the sustainable trade programme (IDH), an initiative that started offering tools for sustainability some years ago and is still being joined by an increasing number of companies.”

This interview first appeared on page 18 of edition 139 (Sept/Oct 2015) of Eurofresh Distribution magazine. Read more of that issue online here: https://www.eurofresh-distribution.com/magazine/139-2015-septoct

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Freshfel calls for fresh ideas to boost consumption

Freshfel Europe stimulates sector to re-think consumption of fruit and vegetables

‘Think outside the box’ and seek creative ways to stimulate consumers to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables – that’s one of the messages from Freshfel Europe’s annual policy event held yesterday in Brussels.

The call comes amid figures from the association which show some consumption of some types of fresh fruit and vegetables has slid considerably.

In a press release, Freshfel said the fresh produce sector should continue to move ahead to stimulate consumption and enhance the positive image of fresh produce, two things that are among its priorities for the year ahead.

Freshfel said that at its annual policy event, several speakers presented creative ways to promote fresh produce. Samuel Levie, from Food Cabinet in the Netherlands, started the day with a presentation on a successful low-budget campaign called ‘Big Bang Broccoli’ as well as a campaign called ‘Power to the Pieper’ to promote the humble potato as a contemporary superfood.

Images from Power to the Pieper video

Daniel Fritz, a social media expert working among others for the European Commission, raised awareness about how the fresh produce sector can profit more by using social media to spread positive messages on its produce. He showed some surprising keywords and recommendations the fresh produce sector can use.

“Consumers are aware of the healthy aspects of fruit and vegetables, but more can be done to promote the fun and positive effects of fruit and vegetables,” said Freshfel Europe president Luc Clerx. In the foreword to the association’s 2015 activity report,

Luc Clerx President of Freshfel Europe

Clerx had strong words for the European Commission, which he said was now “eager to remove the successful school fruit and vegetables scheme.”  He defended the scheme as an essential tool for changing the diet of European consumers in the long run.

Other priorities for Freshfel in the coming year are to encourage the competitiveness of European fruit and vegetables production, to move ahead on food and plant safety and research and innovation, and to enhance trade while also securing efficient health and nutrition policies.

Freshfel Europe is the European Fresh Produce Association and represents the interests of the fresh fruit and vegetables supply chain in Europe and beyond.