Generic fresh-cut salad

Fresh-cut fruit and vegetables ales enjoyed a boom through the opening eight months of 2011, according to new data released by Symphoni Iri and reported by Efeagro.

Sales of fresh-cut produce climbed 3 per cent year-on-year in volume terms to 54,600 tonnes through the January-August period. In 2010, sales for the full-year came in at 70,600 tonnes, an increase of 6 per cent on the previous 12 months.

Between January and August 2011, the value of the fresh-cut market climbed to €303.8m, 5.5 per cent up on the same period of 2010, when the market was valued at €287.8m.

Salads performed particularly well, with a total volume of 31,000 tonnes sold through the eight month period, up 2.5 per cent on 2010, with value hitting €172.8m.

??Fresh-cut fruit sales showed a huge increase during January-August, climbing from 73 tonnes to 963 tonnes, with value rising to €4.5m.