The European Union must do more to boost domestic consumption and find new export markets in order to avoid a repeat of last summer’s crisis in the fruit industry. These were the conclusions drawn from the meeting of the Joint Spanish-Franco-Italian Committee which took place in Huelva on Tuesday (28 April).
The committee called on the European Union to invest more in generic promotional campaigns highlighting the benefits of fruit consumption, claiming there was still room for growth, even in countries where consumption is already high.
It also said market expansion efforts should focus on removing trade barriers and reaching agreements with third countries on pest and crop protection issues in order to establish the necessary protocols.
The committee also urged the European Commission to activate exception crisis management measures immediately as the new campaign gets underway rather than rushing to implement them as a corrective measure later on in the season. It also called for an overhaul of existing crisis prevention and management systems.
The committee noted that the outlook for the 2015 summer campaign generally favourable, since harvesting was expected to get underway somewhat later than last year and production levels remained stable. Last year was marred by low stonefruit prices, slow movement in Golden Delicious apples and the late response of the European Commission to the price crisis, the committee said.
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