The consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables has closed the year with a clear decrease in consumption. In the latest food consumption panel, carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food during the months of January to October of last year, consumption decreased by 13%.
Vegetables have had a decrease of 14%. The onion had a decrease of 19%, being the vegetable with the greatest drop in consumption. Others like the tomato, pepper and lettuce group were down approximately 12%. No vegetable is spared, so the potato, a very versatile product, which is present in multiple dishes, prepared in different ways, also fell by 11%.
As for fresh fruits, their consumption has fallen by 12%. As in the case of vegetables, the consumption of almost all fruits fell. The apple was the fruit that has least noticed this change in trend, and continues to be the most demanded, since it fell by only 7%. Strawberries and oranges follow with a decrease of 8% and 9%, while bananas suffered a decrease of 15%.
The most affected fruits were melon and watermelon, two very typical products in Spain that fell by 19% and 25%, quite worrying data. According to farmers and producers of melons and watermelons, this decrease is due to weather changes rather than inflation, since it influences the quality of the product. If there has not been a good season, the fruit will not be consumed, since as many times it is said colloquially among ordinary people "it is not the season to buy this fruit".
How much does the population spend on fruit and vegetables?
In the year 2022, the Spanish spent approximately four billion euros on vegetables and six billion euros. Vegetable spending fell by 6%, while fruit spending was practically the same as the previous year, something that clashes with the previously mentioned data on consumption. Inflation is also present in the products of the land.
Why has there been a decline in consumption?
Everyone can deduce what some of these reasons are, such as the one that is shaking the entire planet, the inflation caused by the war in Ukraine. But the reality is that there are two main reasons that are not related to the economy, the rise of junk food and the end of the confinement.
This decrease in consumption sounds somewhat counterproductive, since in recent years there has been a large increase in the purchase of organic products and the consolidation of vegan and vegetarian diets. Sadly, the reality is that the population is less and less aware of consuming fruit, above all. There are more and more junk food options, more variety in snack products, which are easier to acquire on a day-to-day basis. Since in any local business, which we frequent every day to buy a loaf of bread, for example, there is a greater variety of snack products than fruit. Immediacy has been established in consumption, so the faster the better. And although it sounds strange, since a fruit is something that does not need processing to be eaten, the population prefers other types of food to eat between meals.
On the other hand, COVID and its confinement propelled the consumption of fruit and vegetables. Spain was already in a negative trend, in January 2020, consumption fell by 1,2%. The total and partial confinements caused a strong boost in demand, making it clear that when a certain normality returns, there is no commitment to the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables.
