Afrucat, the Business Association of Fruit Companies of Catalonia, expects a notable recovery of stonefruit prices this week thanks to the withdrawal of fruit for its processing into juice, which is to be given to charitable organisations. The measure was approved on 7 July by the Ministry of Agriculture and will apply to 20 million kilos of fruit.
Furthermore, according to Afrucat Director Manel Simon, "as of 1 August it will also be possible to fund the withdrawal of up to 38.4 million kilos of fruit with the entry into force of a European regulation and the introduction of an extraordinary budget. All of this should ensure no sales are made for prices below 0.65 Euro per kilo."
Simon says it is worth noting that the current situation is better than last season's, with high temperatures, no stocks and no overlapping production areas. He also stresses that last season only 13 million kilos were approved to be withdrawn for processing into juice for charities and that the measure was not effective until mid-August.
This year, as a result of foresight and the negotiations carried out before the start of campaign with both the Ministry and the European Commission, the extraordinary measures will arrive on time and be universal, without limitations in terms of volume or funds. In fact, Catalan fruit companies have already started withdrawing the first batches of peaches and nectarines for their processing into juice for charity.