Economics
The processed fruit and vegetables sector is a true European sector. Most of the products are grown on European fields.
General: PROFEL
The European Association of Fruit and Vegetable Processing Industries represents over 500 companies in 11 EU countries that produce:
- Frozen Vegetables
- Canned Vegetables
- Dehydrated vegetables
- Canned deciduous fruit and compotes
- Jams and fruit spreads
- Frozen fruit
Key data:
The members of PROFEL employ more than 80.000 people. The combined turnover of our members amounts to an impressive figure – roughly €22 billion.
PROFEL’s companies annually produce approximately:
- 3.300.000 Tonnes of Frozen vegetables
- 2.100.000 Tonnes of Canned vegetables
- 1.000.000 Tonnes of Canned Deciduous Fruit and compotes
- 485.000 Tonnes Jams/Fruit preserves
- 50.000 Tonnes Dehydrated vegetables
Trade:
Processed fruit and vegetables were worth €47 billion (source: Eurostat). In general, the industry represents an average of 6% of the total food processing industry in Europe. External European exports of processed fruit and vegetables amount to approximately €6.2 billion. This figure is even greater when intra-EU trade is included as processed fruit and vegetable trade flows are generally oriented to the internal market. Nevertheless, the sector boasts strong external trade figures. In 2017, the five leading export destinations outside the EU were the USA, Russia, China, Switzerland and South Africa. The most important destinations in developing countries were the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), as well as Hong Kong, the Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Mexico and Thailand. The EU is currently a world leader in processed fruit and vegetable exports.
