In the period between January and October 2019, the value of the EUs fruit and vegetable imports from third countries stood at 14,591 million Euro, 2% more than in the same period of the previous year. Meanwhile, the volume stabilized at 14.2 million tons.

In fruits, the most significant increases during the period at hand have been those of pineapples and avocados, with 2,748 million Euro (+15%) worth 1.8 million tons (-1%), followed by citrus fruits, with 1,621 million Euro (+4%) and 2 million tons (-12%). Banana purchases have fallen slightly, totaling 3,294 million Euro (-1%) and 5 million tons (-1%).

As for vegetables, the most imported by the EU from non-EU countries have been tomatoes, onions and potatoes, with increases in terms of both volume and value. Tomato imports were worth 542 million Euro (+ 6%), with a volume totaling 479,963 tons (+1%). Those of onions amounted to 403.5 million Euro (+103%) and 657,805 tons (+128%), and those of potatoes stood at 235.7 million Euro (+5%) and 516,683 tons (+44%).

The data up to October 2019 reveal a positive development of EU imports of non-EU fruits and vegetables, with a rise in average prices. In the case of tomatoes, the average price has stood at 1.12 Euro per kilo; 4.6% more than in the same period of 2018, and in the case of potatoes, the average price amounted to 0.45 Euro / kilo; 28% more. According to FEPEX, this does away with the idea that products from third countries are cheaper than EU ones.