The role of Producer Organizations in supply concentration and marketing: a comparison between European Countries in the fruit and vegetables sector

The Fruit and Vegetables (FV) sector has a relevant and increasing economic value in the EU, accounting for about 20% of the total value of agricultural production; the Countries with higher significance are Greece, Spain and Italy (from 25% to 35%). Nevertheless the producers are negatively affected by structural problems related to the small size of the farms and scarce ability to concentrate and promote production. For this reason the 2007 reform of the CMO for fruit and vegetables provides measures in favor of growers who are members of Producer Organizations (POs). In fact, the present rate of organization of the sector varies considerably across the EU Countries, but in general it is considered to be too low (around 35%). This paper carries out a comparative study of the capability of POs to concentrate supply and promote the production of their members in 3 important producing Countries: Italy, Spain and France. The analysis is based on operational programs prepared by POs to obtain financial aid from the European Commission and considers production value distribution and composition, marketing channels (supermarkets, wholesale, small retail and processing) and measures provided to support farmers in production, marketing and to protect the environment.