The consumption of packaged juice is marked by a downward trend at the European level, and especially in Spain, where the fall over the last five years exceeds 15%.
This has been revealed by the data collected in the latest report of the European Fruit Juice Association (AIJN), which point out that in 2016 Spain's total consumption stood at 831 million litres; 6% less than a year earlier and far from the 986 million of 2012.
Thus, Spanish consumers drank an average of 17.9 litres of bottled juice during the previous year, when the average in previous years reached around 22 litres.
At EU level, consumption in 2016 hit 9.3 billion litres, 2.4% less than in the previous year and 10% below the figure reached just a few years ago, in 2012.
The study differentiates between two categories: 100% juice, which in Spain accounted for 44% of the total consumption, and nectars, which contain between 25 and 99% juice and accounted for 56% of sales.
These data contrast with those recorded at the EU level, since the percentage of 100% juice represents almost two-thirds of all consumption.
The weight of white-label brands
There are also differences in the weight of white-label brands. While in Spain they account for 56% of all juice and nectar sales, this figure drops to 51% at an EU level.
The president of the Healthy Eating Foundation, Jesus Román, has defended the benefits of 100% juice against those who warn that its consumption is not equivalent to that of a piece of fresh fruit.
"100% juice has no added sugar, while other products, like nectars, do. That is why juice, consumed in moderate quantities, does not cause any issues," he emphasised.
However, he acknowledged that it can sometimes be difficult for the consumer to understand the differences between one and the other once they are in the supermarket shelf, where both categories share the same space, so he has urged the industry to "maximise the amount of information given to the consumer" to facilitate their distinction.
