Soaring energy bills have sent the EU’s horticulture sector scrambling to save their produce just as harvest time hits. According to Luc Vanoirbeek, Fruit and Vegetable Working Party Chairman for EU farmers’ association COPA-COGECA, the fruit and vegetable sector remains key for securing Europe’s food security.
“There are a lot of people depending on this sector – but we have to survive this year,” he told EURACTIV, stressing that while the costs of producing have soared to a record high, the prices of products “are not following”.
Energy bills in the sector have soared as much as 12 times their average, with one Belgian farmer reporting his annual €3,000 bill had skyrocketed to more than €50,000 this year.
Source: euractiv.com
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