Concluding a two-year review as part of the Juncker Commission's ongoing Better Regulation initiative, the updated and simplified delegated regulation of the European fruit and vegetable sector will further strengthen the role of Producer Organisations (PO) by making them more attractive to non-members, while at the same time improving the functioning of the existing market management scheme.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan today said: "In the context of farming and food production in Europe, the fruit and vegetable sector is of vital importance. The European Commission has and will continue to stand by the sector. It is essential too that the millions of farmers producing some of the highest quality food in the world are adequately rewarded for their efforts and that consumers continue to have access to such produce."

Every year, some €47 billion worth of fruits and vegetables are produced by 3.4 million holdings across the EU, roughly a quarter of all EU farms. According to the latest available figures, there were around 1 500 Producer Organisations covering 50% of the EU fruit and vegetables production.

In addition to the direct aid and the EU co-financing of rural development projects, EU fruit and vegetable growers have benefited of exceptional support measures totalling €430 million since the imposition by Russia of an embargo on EU agri-food exports in August 2014. The European Commission also provides additional funding for Producer Organisations of about €700 million every year.

In addition to this ongoing market aid, the new rules will bring:

• An increase in the support available to the fruit and vegetable sector for market withdrawals – when products have to be removed from the market due to unforeseen market developments. Withdrawal prices will increase from 30% to 40% of the average EU market price over the last five years for free distribution (so-called charity withdrawals) and from 20% to 30% for withdrawals destined for other purposes (such as compost, animal feed, distillation, etc.).

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Full press release available in 23 EU languages is available via the link below.

Via europa.eu