The Role of Producer Organizations in Supply Concentration and Marketing: A Comparison between European Countries in the Fruit and Vegetable Sector

Abstract

The fruit and vegetable (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, producers are negatively affected by structural problems related to the small size of the farms and their inability to concentrate and promote production. In order to improve producers' competitive conditions, the 2007 reform of the Common Market Organization for fruit and vegetables provides measures in favor of growers who are members of Producer Organizations (POs). Still, the evaluation of PO effectiveness is ambiguous. For instance, the value of production marketed by POs as a share of total production of the member states varies considerably across the EU countries. This article carries out a comparative study of the capability of POs to concentrate supply and promote the production of their members in three 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 the protection of the environment. A descriptive statistics analysis and an empirical regression model are used.