Fresh Fruit & Vegetables West Africa

The most important trends in consumption of fruit and vegetables relate to health, convenience,sustainability and food safety. Fresh fruits and vegetables play a key role in this health trend.Europe is the largest importer of fresh tropical and exotic fruit, and the figures show a steady increase of imports for these products. The EU is the most important trading partner for the West African region, and trade has reached its pre-economic crisis levels again in 2010. Fresh fruit and vegetables is one of the five most promising sectors for exports from West Africa and all national governments have agricultural development programmes supporting the sector as well. Close proximity to Europe, the possibility of sea freight and certification possibilities are the main opportunities for the subsector. As many constraints in the value chain are company internal, a focus will be on SMEs. And as BSOS are in general weak, support will only be given to those organisations which will have an added value for the value chain. Therefore the programme will consist of three projects. The projects Senegal Mango and Pineapple Ghana will consist of both an ECP supporting mango and pineapple producers respectively, but will also contain a BSO element. The third project will be a regional ECP, this will spread the risks of the programme, increase impact and will increase the efficiency of the programme. No BSOS will be supported in this project. BSOS and other stakeholders will be included in the project development from an early stage and there will be a strong focus on importers.