Growers in the UK are missing out on funding from the EU as the European Commission last week approved €25.5 million in support for the promotion of agricultural products.
The only funds allocated to the UK are to be spent on meat marketing as the sole application from horticulture - from English Apples & Pears - failed to meet criteria.
Producers in 14 member states running 25 programmes will benefit from the cash injection, which is to help them provide information on and promotion for their products within the EU. The funds represent half of the total budget for each programme. Projects selected by the Commission will receive funding over a three-year period.
Cyprus potatoes will benefit from a €1.4m EU grant, while Belgian organics and chicory will receive just over €1m between them.
But one of the biggest grants of all for the fresh sector -€2m - was awarded to Italian horticulture organisation CSO for promotion of fresh fruit in the UK, Germany, Austria, Poland and Sweden.
The €4m, three-year Italian project -Fruit is child’s play - will promote peach, nectarine, plum, pear and kiwifruit consumption among young children and adolescents and is expected to involve the major multiples. “This is a positive result which will allow Italy to carry out promotion abroad to contribute to boosting fruit consumption particularly among the young,” said CSO director Valtiero Mazzotti
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