For leading Spanish export consortium Proexport, the long-term impact of June’s E.coli outbreak in Germany and the subsequent Europe-wide drop in fresh produce consumption have been major contributory factors to the fall in sales reported in its end-of-season results.
According to the Murcia-based group, Proexport’s member companies sold 936,785 tonnes of fruits and vegetables during the 2010/11 season, a quantity 9 per cent higher than the campaign before (867,823 tonnes).
However, the value of these sales fell by 4.6 per cent to €652m compared with a total of €690m the season before.
Proexport president Juan Marín Bravo said the figures reflected the fact that “until the end of May, consumption was recovering in Europe and we were exporting greater volumes, but at lower average prices compared with the previous campaign, which did not cover production costs in many cases”.
In terms of individual products, the group said iceberg lettuce registered the largest export increase by volume, up by 17 per cent to 248,077 tonnes, while broccoli exports rose 20 per cent to 65,964 tonnes.
However, not all products recorded volumes increases, with tomato exports from the primarily Murcia-based group dropping by 23 per cent to 22,161 tonnes.
According to Marín, “unfair “ competition from Moroccan exporters, leading to the disappearance of a number of Murcian tomato growers, was the principal reason for the decrease in volumes.
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