The European fruit and vegetable association FruitVegetablesEUROPE (EUCOFEL), which brings together more than 4,500 companies from the main European producing and exporting countries, has launched with financial support from Brussels the dissemination program “CuTE-4You: Cultivating the Taste of Europe for You”. The campaign aims to highlight the essential work of the sector carried out during the COVID-19 pandemic and generate a movement in support of European farmers that promotes, in turn, the consumption of fruits and vegetables produced within the European Union.

The action of FruitVegetablesEUROPE, in which prominent and representative organizations such as Comité de Gestión de Cítricos, Afrucat, Freshuelva, Cooperativas Agro-alimentary de Granada / Asparagus Verde, + Broccoli, Alcachofa de España, Proexport, Asociafruit, Afruex, Apoexpa, Fedefruta and FEPEX also intends to convey the messages of pride and belonging to the sector to millions of consumers in Spain, Germany and Belgium. In terms of population, these three countries represent around 141.4 million consumers in the EU.

“We will ask citizens to look at the label and make sure their products are from here. We all know that the best way to thank EU farmers for their efforts is to consume and enjoy European fruit and vegetables. With this, the consumer wins, the producer wins and EUROPE WINS ”, highlights the president of FruitVegetablesEUROPE, Juan Marín. “From FruitVegetablesEUROPE we are very proud and excited about the launch of this EU promotion program. This is the most important political and social program that has been launched in the European Union to thank the European fruit and vegetable sector ”, underlines the General Secretary of FruitVegetablesEUROPE, Alba Ridao-Bouloumié. The president also highlighted the strategic nature of agriculture because "we cannot remain in the hands of third countries and that any crisis, pandemic or geopolitical contingency could leave us without such much-needed food that Europe's consumers need."

"Andalusian farmers have spent decades demonstrating our strong commitment to European consumers by supplying the best products offered by our fields bathed in the fantastic Andalusian sun. During all this time, our products have been produced in a satisfactory way complying with all the European regulations regarding HEALTH, FOOD SAFETY, RESPECT FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, DISPOSAL OF WASTE ... in short, we produce what our European partners need and that also satisfies their wishes and concerns regarding the way of producing ”, explains José Rodríguez, President of Asociafruit's Stone Fruit Sector. "In the hardest moments of the beginning of the pandemic, in full confinement and with all the doubts and fears existing at that time, Andalusian farmers and all workers in our sector immediately understood that our product had to continue to reach all European destinations and so it happened, putting the obligation to consumers before their own health. In these months of pandemic we have seen how not all countries have aligned themselves with the common interest and in certain cases they make sure to put their own interests first as a country and / or as an area of ​​influence. This has to attract the attention of Europeans and consider our EU as an area of ​​common interest so that for strategic products we are capable of NOT DEPENDING on other producing countries whose supply may be interrupted in adverse situations ", says Mr. Rodríguez, to come to the conclusion that “furthermore, this supply DOES NOT ALWAYS coincide with the needs, desires, trends of the European consumer and on certain occasions NOT respecting legal or Phytosanitary aspects. For all these reasons, I encourage us to become aware of the importance of consuming European-Spanish-Andalusian products so that we take care of a strategic sector that is close and that also satisfies the tastes of our consumers ”.

Along the same lines, the organizations that make up this association coincide in pointing out that “the European consumer must be clear that acquiring fruit and vegetables produced and made in Europe will provide greater guarantees of food safety, quality, environmental respect and an added commitment to the values ​​and ways of doing, in social and labor matters, of the European Union itself ”.

In a promotional video of the campaign, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has recognized the value of fruits and vegetables from the point of view of health, nutrition, economy, employment, development rural and the environment. “I am the minister of this country that is called the‘ Orchard of Europe ’and with good reason, because we effectively nourish fruit and vegetables to the whole of the EU and we are the largest producer ”, he stressed. He recalled that our country has more than 1.7 million hectares, more than 30 million tons a year in production of "excellent fruits and vegetables, very diverse"; an activity that allows 200,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs in collection and handling. "The more than 16,500 million euros of our exports to the rest of the EU and the world show how we contribute to the development of this sector," he adds.

Likewise, Planas has valued that, within the framework of the sustainable development objectives, the sector responds to the new demands regarding respect for the environment and the fight against climate change.

“The Covid-19 outbreak has triggered an unprecedented crisis. I am deeply grateful to our farmers and producers, who have demonstrated their resilience and have continued to provide Europeans with safe and high-quality food during the pandemic, ”remarked EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, after noting that "ensuring food safety and an efficient food supply chain throughout the EU is one of the Commission's priorities".

“Last year served to make clear that it is essential to ensure that everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious and sustainable food, while preserving our potential for agricultural production and recognizing the key role our farmers play in this context. The affordability of food and the generation of fairer economic benefits for farmers go hand in hand, ”adds Wojciechowski. It has recognized that fruit and vegetable producers and their organizations experienced financial and cash flow problems caused by the closure of the hospitality sector and other outlets for their products, as well as difficulties in harvesting due to a shortage of workforce.

“To help alleviate these problems, the Commission quickly took steps to give more flexibility in the implementation of the fruit and vegetable market support programs and strengthened the EU school scheme (which covers milk, fruit and vegetables ). This allowed the reorientation of financing priorities towards crisis management measures ”, the commissioner pointed out. On the other hand, he recalled that "current environmental challenges force us to significantly reduce the use and risks of phytosanitary chemicals, as well as the use of fertilizers and antibiotics, and at the same time increase the area dedicated to organic agriculture" . In this sense, "the EC has supported a change towards a more plant-based diet, with more fruits and vegetables."

The singers Natalie Horler (representative of Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2013) and Kate Ryan (Belgium's choice in 2006 for the Festival), are the popular faces that participate in the video-spot of “CuTE-4You”, together with Blas Cantó -the representative of Spain in the Eurovision 2021 contest, which will host the city of Rotterdam (Netherlands) at the end of May- and Soraya Arnelas (participated in the European contest in 2009). The four artists have shown their absolute support for the consumption of fruit and vegetables produced in Europe due to the positive implications it has for farmers, the economy and rural development. The campaign video-spot has been nourished with images of crops and producers shot in the main fruit and vegetable areas of Spain.

The new campaign will continue “Cute - Cultivating the Taste of Europe”, a global strategy of FruitVegetablesEUROPE launched in 2018 to highlight the production methods and characteristics of European fruits and vegetables, which has already reached 220 million euros. consumers.

Within the “CuTE-4You” framework, specific actions will be developed to support producers of orange, tangerine, clementine, watermelon, melon, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, table grapes, apricots, cherries, Paraguayan / flat peach, tomato, pepper, lettuce, broccoli, green asparagus, artichoke, spinach and celery, among others. In addition to an audiovisual, the campaign will be nourished by various actions in the media, the Internet and social networks to generate a whole social movement in favor of the consumption of European fruits and vegetables, as summarized by the slogan: “When you consume our fruits and vegetables, Europe wins and we all win ".

If European producers were already dealing with highly volatile markets, the pandemic has created conditions of insecurity among producers and marketers. In this sense, the CuTE-4You campaign, which has a budget of 922,000 euros and co-financing from the EU, wants to help restore normal market conditions after the multiple impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The European fruit and vegetable sector is key for the EU, accounting for 19.8% of total agricultural production; about five million hectares and a value of more than 52,000 million euros, which also offers affordable and high-quality food to 511 million consumers. The sector preserves the traditional, cultural and natural heritage of Europe and is a driver of employment and rural development.