On Thursday, November 29 in Leuven a new "transnational association of producer organizations" for fruits and vegetables was formed. The new organization was given the nickname Freshcoop and brings Belgian and French growers together. Producers from two very important horticultural production regions, Flanders and Brittany, will join forces. The new transnational producer organization represents 4 Flemish and 7 French producer organizations, which together account for nearly 6,900 growers and a total value of marketed production of over 900 million Euro. In this new organization two large, well-known labels come together: Flandria and Prince de Bretagne. Meanwhile, it was announced that producer organizations from a number of other Member States may be ultimately interested in joining.
Photo: Tuinbouwnet.be
"The horticulture sector is a very important sector for Flanders. Export wise, we are the leaders in various products, since for many products more than half of the fruit and vegetable production is exported. Therefore, international cooperation within the framework of our vision of the development of the sector is very important and we welcome initiatives which could contribute to it," added Minister-President Kris Peeters.
