European farming cooperatives union Copa-Cogeca has welcomed the calls of MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) to increase funds for EU fruit and vegetable producers affected by the E coli outbreak.
It also said that the aid package should be extended to other products if these have also been hit.
Copa-Cogeca secretary general Pekka Pesonen commented: “I am pleased that many MEPs supported our calls to increase funds in their meeting today. Fruit and vegetable growers have suffered greatly during this crisis, with losses estimated at €400m per week. We sent a letter to committee chairman Paolo de Castro outlining our demands and calling for producers to be 100 per cent compensated for their losses.
'Although the Commission's proposed rescue package of €210m is a good start, it will not be nearly enough to compensate producers for their huge losses. If other products have been affected and producers can prove this, they should also be compensated.'
Pesonen added that promotional campaigns should be launched with immediate effect to restore consumer confidence during this important period, regarded as the height of the season for European fruit and vegetables.
'The timing of this crisis could not be worse for producers,' he said, 'and if the EU does not act now, losses will be devastating, causing more growers to go out of business.'
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