Fruit and vegetable consumption levels in October dropped by around 0.6% compared to the same month in 2012, reaching 737.4 million kilos, while their value dropped by 0.2%, totalling 1,014 million Euro, according to data provided by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.
The slight drop in consumption levels was mainly caused by fresh fruit, which fell by around 1.8% in October, reaching 393.9 million kilos, while fresh vegetables grew by approximately 0.9%, totalling 253.6 million kilos. In terms of expenditure, both fruit and vegetables experienced drops; the former fell by 0.7% and the latter by 1.1%.
Regarding potatoes, consumption grew by around 1%, while their value increased by 10.5% compared to October 2012, with a total of 89.8 million kilos and 65.8 million Euro.
Between January and October 2013, a total of 7,361 million kilos of fruit and vegetables were consumed; a similar figure to that registered in 2012. Potato consumption levels reached 1.6 million kilos (+1.6%), while vegetables stood at 2,494 million kilos (+2.8%) and fruits totalled 3,964 million kilos (-2.1%).
During the period at hand, expenditure increased by around 5.8%, standing at 10,134 million Euro. From that figure, expenditure in potatoes increased the most (+36.8%), reaching 741 million Euro. Expenditure stood at 3,905 million Euro for vegetables (+2.6%) and 5,488 million Euro for fruit (+5%).