A group of leading Spanish fresh produce associations have announced the launch of a new quality inspection service, which will certify and provide information about Spanish fruits and vegetables in major export markets.
Created by national federation Fepex, alongside top associations Proexport, Coexphal, Freshuelva and Afrucat, Fruit Audit will certify imports of fruits and vegetables from Spain in Germany and Poland, using teams based in each country.
With the recent false German claims linking Spanish cucumbers with an E.coli outbreak among other accusations, the group believes the new venture can act as a first point of defence for Spanish exports, verifying their quality and food safety.
As well as certifying the quality of volumes arriving in Poland and Germany, Fruit Audit will also provide growers in Spain with information about the supply chain and prices in both markets.
At the official launch of the project this week in Murcia, Fruit Audit’s managing director, Rubén Cervera, said: “Complaints are a financial burden for exporters because clients are able to take advantage of the fact that we work with perishable goods – for this reason, we check the veracity of complaints in under 24 hours.”
Germany annually receives around 23.5 per cent of all Spanish fruit and vegetable exports, while Poland receives around 5 per cent, although the country also acts as an entry point for eastern European markets.
Last year, Spain exported €3,032m worth of fruits and vegetables to Germany and €375m worth to Poland.
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