European farming cooperatives union Copa-Cogeca has sent a letter to the EU Council of Ministers calling for funds proposed by European Parliament for fruit and vegetable producer organisations to be agreed in the EU's 2012 budget.
The delivery of the letter comes just ahead of a debate between the EU Commission, EU ministers and MEPs on the 2012 budget in the budget trialogue committee.
Copa-Cogeca noted in the letter, which was sent to Polish finance minister Jacek Rostowski, that the ongoing crisis in the EU fresh fruit and vegetable sector had been devastating for producers and producer organisations across the EU.
'Although extra measures for the vegetable sector were quickly put in place by the commission in the summer to help producers get through the crisis, they were largely inadequate when compared to the losses suffered by EU fruit and vegetable producers and cooperatives,' said Hans Van Es, chairman of Copa-Cogeca's fruit and vegetable working party.
As a result on what Copa-Cogeca calls an 'unprecedented crisis' in the industry, MEPs have proposed allocating €175m of additional funding to producer organisations' operational funds and €75m to producer groups, such as cooperatives, in the fresh produce sector.
Copa-Cogeca has therefore called on the council to ensure that the additional funding proposed by MEPs totalling €250m is allocated to producer organisations ad groups in the 2012 budget.
