Leading Spanish fresh produce association Proexport has claimed that its members could save as much as €90m each year by choosing to use cardboard cartons for packing and transporting their fruit and vegetables instead of reusable plastic ones.
The Murcia-based organisation, which counts 55 major companies and cooperatives in the Spanish region among its membership, claims that a saving of between €0.48 and €1.15 can be made on average per carton by using cardboard packaging.
In what it has described as an “exhaustive” study carried out by Proexport and its allied companies, the association argued that cardboard cartons brought financial and environmental benefits for fruit and vegetable producers.
In a statement, Proexport president Juan Marín highlighted the importance that fresh produce companies place on packaging selection, which he said affected the profitability of Murcia’s fruit and vegetable sector.
The association’s findings were echoed by Murcia’s agriculture minister, Antonio Cerdá, who argued during a one day conference on the topic, held last week, that changing from a reusable plastic carton to a cardboard one could provide “an important economic saving, improving the competitiveness of companies and benefiting the environment”.
