The UK’s fruit and vegetable consumption is still lagging behind the rest of Europe, steady at under an annual 50kg per head, according to a study launched at Fresh2006.
The rates of consumption for Greece are over 200kg per capita, while South Koreans consume an average of 150kg per person. The inhabitants of China, Austria and Japan consume over 100kg of fruit and vegetables each.
But the broad consumption of fruit and vegetables across the world is too low, and the growth in worldwide production is outpacing population growth, according to the Rabobank report.
The vegetable supply chain is adapting to a more demand-driven approach to remedy the situation, says industry analyst Eric Baas, team leader in the department of Food & Agribusines Research.
“There are more demands on the fresh produce industry, from retailers, from the food service sector, and from the end consumer,” he said. “But there is a trend to operate a more demand-related business.”
There is a need to cater to the requirements of the various distribution channels, in particular the large food retail chains and foodservice companies, while at the same time understanding and fulfilling the needs of the customer.
“Society is changing,” said Baas. “Traditional family structures have eroded, and this has affected the way that people eat.
“There is more emphasis on convenience, even in Mediterranean countries where there has always been a tradition for eating well.
“Meal preparation times will have fallen to just eight minutes by 2010, and this is something that the fruit and vegetable sector should take into consideration.
“But as concerns for health, and particularly obesity, grow, so will the fruit and vegetable sector.”
The stagnation of the market is a problem, and the fresh produce industry must start to look to other parts of the world to grow consumption, according to Philippe Binard, general delegate of Freshfel Europe.
“There has been almost no development in European exports, and Europe continues to be the world’s largest importer,” he said.
The UK is the third highest importer of fresh produce, shipping in nearly two million tonnes each year.
China and India are the world’s largest and fastest growing vegetable producers, with China responsible for half of global production.
Only three per cent of global vegetable production was traded globally in 2004, according to the report.
But global vegetable trade is growing steadily and registered a compound annual growth rate of 4.6 per cent in the decade up to 2004.
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