Greenhouse fruit and vegetable producers in southern Spain are studying the possibility of launching a maritime service between the port of Almeria and the French ports of Sète and Marseille, in order to reduce the CO2 emissions from the high volume of trucks destined for European markets.
Sources from APROA, the Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Organisations, said that although the project was still in the planning phase, there was a “firm will” to make it a reality.
“This form of intermodal transport would reduce the number of trucks on the road, cut CO2 emissions from the transportation of vegetables from the places of production and curb the large volume of cargo passing through Spain during the winter campaigns,” APROA said in a statement.
“It would also help make the large European supermarket chains greener and help shape future common agricultural policy, providing a more socially, environmentally and economically sustainable alternative to current transport provision.”
APROA’s 73 members comprise more than 15,000 greenhouse growers in Andalusia and Murcia who between them produce almost 3m tonnes of fruit and vegetables worth €2.35bn every year.
