European farming group Copa Cogeca warns plans to support the EU fruit and vegetable sector are insufficient, and predicts the next big losers of the Russian embargo and market disturbance will be tomato producers and exporters.

In a letter sent to the European Commission recently, Copa Cogeca general secretary Pekka Pesonen, called for an urgent review of the current support measures in place to help mitigate the losses of the Russian import embargo.

He says many sectors are in 'crisis', points towards the high volumes of apples and pears left in storage and says tomatoes could be next. 

"Fruit and vegetable growers are suffering a crisis situation, hit by the Russian ban on farm exports which was the number one outlet for our exports. Prices have still not recovered," he says.

“The progress made in finding alternative export markets does not offset the volumes that were exported to the Russian Federation before the embargo. Particularly concerning are the stocks in the apple and pear sectors as of April 1st, 2016.

"The market situation for tomatoes is also in danger of worsening following the closure of the Russian market and the increased tomato imports flooding into the EU from Morocco."

Earlier this year, Spain’s Federation of Fruit, Vegetable, Flower and Live Plants Grower Exporter Association (FEPEX) said the collapse in tomato prices was leading to serious damages in the sector with prices far below production costs.

Pesonen adds how there are only limited chances to diversify export markets for summer fruits because of 'their highly perishable nature.'

Whilst he welcomes the fact the Commission has agreed to extend the support measures to help alleviate market pressure, he is calling for several changes to be made to better prop up fresh produce sectors around Europe.

These include; setting the maximum guaranteed quantities allocated to member states based on the amount they previously exported to Russia and on their fruit and vegetable production, increasing the level of compensatory aid for withdrawing products from the market and prioritizing purposes other than free distribution, ensuring farmers are compensated much faster and granting more flexibility on the products that are eligible.

www.freshfruitportal.com