Lleida's fruit growing sector could be making about 60 million Euro more per year if the fruit intake in Spain reached the minimum recommended, according to a study prepared by Asaja. According to this report, in the whole of Spain, the revenue of fruit growers would rise to about 200 million Euro. "We believe that the setting up of a fruit interprofessional in Spain, oriented towards some common interest, such as the promotion of the consumption of stone or pome fruit, is fundamental. The low consumption issue affects the entire country," explains the president of Asaja in Lleida, Pere Roqué. "The turnover generated could hugely increase, and this could also help reach some price stability, instead of the volatility that we are facing at the moment," he said.
The recommendation to take five servings of fruits and vegetables a day is not followed anywhere. According to the latest study from the Spanish Nutrition Foundation, Catalans barely consumed 1.6 servings of fruit daily, compared to the two to three that would be adequate. Those who eat the most are the Basques and Cantabrians (1.8 servings), followed by those from Extremadura and Castile-Leon (1.2). The goal should be to increase the intake by at least one piece.
A concern of the health sector today is the deterioration in the quality of the diet of children and adults, with a growing tendency to move away from the Mediterranean diet, in which fruits and vegetables are essential. According to the latest consumption data, Spaniards eat just 3.65 kilos of peaches per year, which is why exports are very important. In the case of pears, the daily intake is 15 grams per day, which means 5.48 kilos per year. Among the most common fruits in the province of Lleida, apples are the most consumed in Spain, with 31 grams daily, which is 11.32 kilos per year. The problem in the case of apples is that, according to an Afrucat study, practically half of those on the shelves of retail chains in Spain are imported.
