Fruit Logistica’s latest European Statistics Handbook has been published and is available to download from the event’s website. 

This manual highlights the impact of inflation, weather phenomena, and rising production costs in the fruit and vegetable market.

Divided among countries and regions of Europe, it presents a variety of detailed data that illustrate statistical trends in the continent’s various fresh fruit and vegetable markets and product categories. 

The data includes details of exports, imports, production, and trade balance for countries like Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, and Greece, among others. As well as top exporters and production of fruit and vegetables for regions like Southeast Europe, Nordic countries, and the EU. 

In addition, the European Statistics Handbook 2023 details different factors affecting trends in the fruit and vegetable market. 

Valuable insights into market trends

On one hand, an emphasis on price as a key driver of consumer spending. Despite the market recovering post-Covid, demand and value are under pressure in some cases as a result of increased living costs. For some consumers, the importance of other variables like sustainability, regionality, and organics has decreased.

Extreme weather has become one of the biggest challenges for producers. Several different crops were affected by adverse conditions in the past year, including heatwaves, droughts, extreme frosts, storms, and floods.

Costs of production have had a sharp increase following the war in Ukraine. Various inputs, like fertilizer, fuel, energy, and labor have increased the most. 

In some areas, production was cut back or completely stopped.

On a positive note, the manual indicates that there were some signs of improvement in the availability and cost of freight transport capacity. However, serious challenges remained – less attractive euro exchange rates, limited availability of truck drivers within Europe, and higher fuel prices.

If you wish to download the entire handbook, click on the following link and enter your information.