Over the last three decades there has been a rapid expansion of intensive production of fresh fruit and vegetables in the Mediterranean regions of south and west Europe. Much of this depends on migrating workers for seasonal labour, including from Eastern Europe, North Africa and Latin America....

The aim of this study is to analyze the factors determining the competitiveness of ports with regard to horticultural produce traffic. A data panel including 27 port authorities over a period of nine years was used. The results show that for traffic of this kind the lower the shipping costs, the...