Today, there are more vegetarians, vegans and flexitarians. However, according to a recent article from agroberichtenbuitenland.nl, sales figures for fresh fruit and vegetables in Europe are falling. It is not easy to find exact data on how many people are choosing to eliminate or cut meat from their diet, but observation indicates that it is a growing trend. A recent study concludes that in Spain 4% of the population is vegetarian -they do not eat meat or fish- and 0.8% is vegan -they do not eat dairy products or eggs. Around 7% are flexitarians, i.e. they tend to eat less and less animal protein. In countries in northern and central Europe, the proportion is higher. One report notes that in Germany, the sum of these three options amounts to half of the population.
Logically, this decrease in meat and fish in the diet implies an increase in the sale of fresh fruits and vegetables, but the data indicate the opposite trend. Figures released by the sector organization FEPEX show that the kilos of fruit and vegetables consumed in Spain have been on the decline since 2014. In that year the quantities totaled 8,416 million kilos, which in 2021 fell to 7,881 million. Data for 2022, collected up to October, reach 5,868 million kilos; consumption was already 12.9% below that recorded in the same period of the previous year. This decrease was 14.3% for vegetables and 12.3% for fresh fruit.
The organization notes that in these period there was only an increase in consumption in 2020, which is attributed to confinement due to the pandemic, but the following year consumption declines again. In Europe as a whole, Freshfel also showed a downward trend in fresh produce, especially vegetables. The average intake of fresh produce stands at 364 g/person/day in 2021, a figure that could fall by around 10% by 2022.
Source: agroberichtenbuitenland.nl
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