Fruit consumption is declining

Spain is one of the EU-27 Countries that have been most affected by fruit consumption drop, according to the latest data by the European association Freshfel reported by the magazine Valencia Fruits.

 

Fruit consumption decreased by 10% in 2007 in Spain, compared with the average over the previous five years (2002-2006), while in the EU was reduced by 5%.

 

Only in eight other countries, consumption decreased even more: Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia. By contrast, according to data from Freshfel, the purchase of fruit grown in Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, United Kingdom, Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden and Slovakia, shows an increase especially in the Nordic countries.

The average consumption of fruit per person stood at 91.14 kg in the EU, while consumption of vegetables reached 104.8 kg per capita.

The acquisition of vegetables in Spain fell by 5% compared to the average decrease of 15% across the EU. In consumption of vegetables, Spain is situated within the overall downward trend, because in the 27 countries it only increased in Malta and Slovakia.

Spain, however, remains one of EU countries with the highest “supply” of fruit and vegetables, with 600 grams per person per day, which is above the minimum recommended by the World Health Organization.

 

Freshfel calculates that the consumption of fruit and vegetables in Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Romania and Italy is higher, while the Portuguese buy the same quantity of fruit and vegetables than the Spanish each day.