"Fresh produce, in the form of fruit and vegetables, is an important factor in promoting the retail food trade and helps to increase the frequency with which consumers return to a store," Kai Krasemann, president of the European trade association FRESHFEL, Brussels, told a Fruit Logistica seminar.
Krassemann was referring to the importance of the 200 or so greengrocery items available in various marketing forms at the point of sale. This means that between 10-12 per cent of all sales by the food industry in the EU are accounted for by the trade in fresh fruit and vegetables, he said.
Krasemann complained, however, of the downward pressure on prices "which the retail food sector passes back down the supply chain, insisting at the same time that its own suppliers should implement all the requirements regarding food safety, hygiene and traceability."
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that legislators at both national and EU level "have still not managed to provide producers and traders with a set of harmonised directives regarding the use of plant protection chemicals and the maximum quantities to be applied." This is yet another challenge being posed by the impending expansion of the EU.
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