European fruit growers experienced record fruit harvests last year, while vegetable production saw a decline, according to Germany’s Central Market and Press Office (ZMP) for Agriculture, Forestry and Food Industry Products.
A higher citrus fruit harvest was one of the main reasons for the bumper fruit harvest, which totalled 37 million tonnes.
Vegetable production of the 25 member states, by contrast, fell by four per cent to 57 million tonnes.
According to ZMP, total world production of vegetables was 900mt last year and continues to rise.
But the upwards trend in fruit production was interrupted in 2005 as a result of hurricane and frost damage. The major import regions for fresh fruit and vegetable were the EU, the US and Japan.
