Freshfel : Restoring confidence in Fresh Produce

As the EU Agriculture Ministers are coming together to discuss compensations for the fresh produce sector in the light of the ongoing uncertainty related to the E.coli outbreak in Germany, Freshfel Europe is reminding authorities that the current crisis is affecting the entire fresh produce supply chain and that immediate communication and promotion actions should be taken to restore consumer confidence.

Since Thursday 26 May 2011, the European fresh produce sector is exposed to an unprecedented and devastating market situation as a result of the EHEC outbreak. Operators across the chain are confronted with a disruptive market situation affecting most of the fresh vegetables and including some fruit as well. Last week in some Member States sales of cucumbers were down by 80 to 100%, sales of tomatoes by 50 to 80% and lettuce over 50%. Such a situation prevailed in many European markets affecting volumes and also prices.

As the EU Agriculture Ministers and the European Commission are considering actions to remedy this exceptional situation, Freshfel warned the European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Ciolos in a letter dated 6th June 2011 about the far reaching implications of the current situation for all operators and consumers. Freshfel consequently called for market measures and to include the restoration of consumer confidence in the package of measures.

Pending the clarification of the source of the outbreak which should remain a priority, the long term image of fresh vegetables is at stake. It will have a long lasting impact on the sales of fresh produce affecting significantly business’s turnover for several months. This crisis will not be overcome by the sector if a strong communication and promotion campaign is not undertaken towards European consumers. Ramon Rey added: “We would favour the implementation of a fast track European generic promotion/communication campaign focusing on the benefits of consuming fresh produce (raw vegetables in particular). We estimate that 50-55 million € would be required to conduct such a large scale 3 weeks media campaign in the most affected Member States.”
 

source : freshfel