STRONG RECOVERY IN HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES IN THE FIRST QUARTER

Spanish household consumption of fruit during the first quarter of 2010 grew by 12% compared to the same period last year, to top 1.1 million tonnes. The vegetable sector also reported an increase of 5.5% to achieve a total consumption of 684.047 tonnes, which signifies for FEPEX, a strong recovery in fruit and vegetable consumption, also reflected in its value. Consumption of fruit grew by 11%, totalling 1,512 million tonnes and vegetables rose by 12%, with a total worth of €1,204 million.

The main vegetable consumed was the tomato, which stood at 132.039 tonnes, 4% more than the first quarter of 2009. The value grew by 14.5% totalling €212 million.

The orange, banana and mandarin were the most consumed fruits during the period analysed and showed increases in both volume and worth. The increase in apple consumption was also noteworthy, up by 12.5% at 173,692 tonnes and pears (+10%) which stood at 94,064 tonnes.

Spanish potato consumption grew by 1.8% during the first quarter of 2010, to total 281,556 tonnes but income fell by 10% to €149 million.

As a whole, the consumption of fruit, vegetables and potatoes during the first quarter of 2010 stood at 2.1 million tonnes, an 8% increase over the same period last year, with a value of €2,867 million, and showed a 10% increase, according to figures from “Food month by month, March 2010” published by the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs.