French association Familles Rurales has published figures examining the price of seven fruits and seven vegetables in approximately 30 departments across France.
The figures reveal that summer prices for fruits have dropped by an average of 19 per cent compared with last year, while those for vegetables have fallen by some 18 per cent.
Apricots have seen a drop of 41 per cent, melons of 33 per cent and courgettes of 23 per cent. Green beans have lost 25 per cent of their value, while pears and carrots have almost remained the same.
Furthermore, between mid-June and mid-July of this year, Familles Rurales revealed that prices for tomatoes fell by 22 per cent, courgettes by 15 per cent, peaches by 11 per cent and apricots by 7 per cent.
Although such a decrease in prices may be welcomed by many cash-strapped consumers, producers have not been afraid to voice their rage at the current situation, which they blame on cheap imports from the likes of Spain, Germany, Morocco and Brazil.
All across southern France last weekend, in Languedoc-Roussillon, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur and Aquitaine, farmers staged protests.
In Saint-Victoret, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, protesters blocked retail outlets and urged consumers to buy local, according to daily newspaper La Voix du Nord.
On Saturday morning, the paper reports, producers dumped fruit and vegetables in front of a Géant Casino outlet before entering the store and throwing foreign produce to the floor, including Peruvian asparagus, Spanish peppers and courgettes and Italian carrots.
In Vaucluse, producers dumped a truckload of apples in front of an Intermarché outlet, while in Perpignan, around 100 producers prevented shoppers entering a Carrefour car park by dumping several tonnes of peaches at the entrances and burning tyres.
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