Europe: Farmers and food industry need to coordinate facing the distribution
Horticultural interprofessional organizations of all countries also need greater coordination among them to present their petitions evenly in Europe and have more strength against large retailers. Inside the fair Macfrut 2015, it brought together representatives from Spain, France, Italy and Hungary. Macfrut 2015 fair has taken a step towards achieving consensus.
The seminar, organized by Ortofrutta Italy, has led to the role of interbranch organizations in the fruit and vegetable sector relations and a possible European coordination and description of comparative experiences of Spain, France, Italy and Hungary.
“Great Organized Distribution has a growing capacity to impose its own conditions for agricultural enterprises and interprofessional organizations, explained Juan Colomina Hortyfruta (Almería),” and not only on prices but also on packaging and Quality standards”.
Practically, in Germany sales in supermarkets representes 89%, something one less in France. Only in Italy the figure slightly downs (61%) for retail sale. “Precisely for this reason it is necessary to establish contact between all the inter-branch organizations to collaborate and gain more strength,” he assured Colomina.
French Interprofessional Organization (INTERFEL) has turned its attention to the consumer. “The interprofession changes over time. But from my forty years of experience, I can say that it is the consumer who decides and the answers given to your questions are fundamental, “said Bruno Dupont, president of INTERFEL.
Nazario Battelli, president of Ortofrutta Italy, concluded: “I think that some measures are necessary. First, representatives of economic activities linked to horticulture decide for a more effective and structured Ortofrutta Italy, as an opportunity to improve the sector paper. Second, the Ministry of Agriculture favors an organic perspective of the instruments available to the heterogeneous horticulture that combines industry with national prerogatives district areas of some products. In short, it is important that the European Union does not penalize the dissemination of national instruments and experiment common solutions in a common market. ”
Source: Macfrut
