Greece has topped a European Union study into the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables across its member states, with the UK offering the least availability.
The report, conducted by EU statistics agency Eurostat, compared the per capita availability of fresh produce since 2000, as well as gross human consumption and pricing.
'Per capita availability of fruit and vegetables was highest in Greece and France and lowest in Lithuania and the United Kingdom,' the report said.
There were considerable differences in the availability of individual types of fruit and vegetables for consumption, according to the study. The amount of apples available varied from an average 7kg per head in Bulgaria for the years 2003, 2004 and 2006 to 94kg in Denmark, while for fresh tomatoes the range was from 3kg per head in Lithuania to 60kg per head in Greece.
Price levels of fresh fruit and vegetables in member states were considerably different, according to the report, with average prices in Bulgaria around half of the average of those across the EU, while about one-third higher than in Ireland.
The study also looked at the development of producer states, with Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic all notable additions to the EU since 2004. Poland in particular has been an important producer nation, the report said, as the world's third largest blueberry and gooseberry producer and fourth largest raspberry producer.
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