Significant increase in QS system partner numbers at all levels of the fruit, vegetables, potatoes system chain

One positive development of recent years continues: In 2017, the number of QS system partners for fruit, vegetables and potatoes continued to increase. This is shown by the system partner figures published in January 2018. In the fruit, vegetables and potatoes sector, 31,919 system partners currently participate in the QS scheme, which is more than 1,500 above the number of the previous year. At over 52 percent, the majority of companies that have QS certification come from the food retail industry.

Picture: QS

In the cultivation section, more than 1,100 companies decided to participate in the QS scheme in 2017, of which 72 percent were from abroad. The largest increases were registered in the Netherlands (444 new establishments), Belgium (231 new establishments) and Austria (149 new establishments). Of the current 13,999 system partners in the cultivation section, 3,408 holdings have been granted QS approval by GlobalGAP, 1,797 via Vegaplan and 374 via AMAGAP.

In the Wholesale segment, in 2017 77 new companies decided to participate in the QS scheme. Thus, 860 wholesalers currently have a QS delivery entitlement, of which 569 are based in Germany and 291 abroad. At 36 percent, the majority of overseas wholesalers come from Spain (106 companies), followed by the Netherlands (86 companies) and Italy (33 companies).

Since January 2017, companies can be certified for the handling/processing stage. Currently, 31 companies are using this option, mainly from Germany.

For more information:
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