October was a bad month for the consumption of fruit and vegetables in Spain. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the demand fell by six percent, and there were sharp declines in the consumption of bananas, stonefruit, green beans, tomatoes and cabbage.
Spanish households consumed a total of 388.3 million kilos of fresh fruit and 327.6 million kilos of vegetables and potatoes in the month of October 2014, i.e. 5%, 8%, and 6% less than in October 2013.
The data is based on the Food Consumption Panel broadcast by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama), which states that the Spanish households spent 541.9 million Euro in fresh fruit and 451.1 million Euro in vegetables and potatoes.
According to this, each person in Spain spent nearly 8 percent less on fruit and nearly 3 percent less on vegetables, despite the disproportionate increase in supply.
Regarding fresh fruit, the Panel states that in October 2014 there was an increase in the volume of tangerines over the same month of 2013 (+13.1%), oranges (+10.8 percent), apples (+10.4 %), pears (+ 7.2%) and plums (+ 9.5%), and a decrease in bananas (-5.2%), peaches (-39.5%), apricots (-37.1%) and watermelon (-47%).
The monthly data recorded a moderate increase in the purchase of fresh potatoes, but a reduction in the consumption of fresh vegetables of nearly 8 percent.
The largest declines in the vegetable category were for green beans (-18.1 per cent), tomatoes (-15 per cent) and cabbage (-14 per cent). There were also decreases in products like onions, lettuce/chicory/endive (4.5%) and peppers (nearly 8 percent less).
In the year that elapsed between November 2013 and October 2014, Spanish households consumed a total of 4,626.9 million kilos fresh fruits and the 3,838.7 million kilos of vegetables and potatoes; 1.8% and 2.7% less, respectively, than in the previous year.
Throughout that year, Spanish households spent $5,971.6 million Euro in fresh fruit (7.7 percent less than in the previous twelve months) and 5,078.1 million Euro in vegetables and potatoes, i.e. 6 percent less than in the previous year.
Fresh fruits purchases for domestic consumption in the last twelve months increased for tangerines (+3.6%); pears (+5.5%), plums (+18.0%) and cherries (+10.6%), but decreased for oranges (-5.6 per cent), bananas, apricots and kiwis (-11%).
Between November 2013 and October 2014, per capita consumption amounted to 95.74 kilos of vegetables, 95.78 kilos of fresh fruits and 65.80 kilos of potatoes per year.