Members of the European Fresh Produce Association (Freshfel) will now have a new tool at their fingertips for analyzing markets and forming strategies, with the launch of a new database that gathers fruit and vegetable production and consumption statistics from the European Union.

Drawing on data from the Food and Agriculture Organization's FAOStat, the EU's Eurostat and UN Comtrade, Freshfel said the new program covered all fruit and vegetable categories.

"This new database responds to the need of the fruit and vegetable sector to know the production, trade and consumption trends in Europe and the world," Freshfel general delegate Philippe Binard said in a release.

"We believe that it gives our members an essential instrument to understand the development on the European and international markets. From now on, they can simply go online to consult these figures directly."

Freshfel highlighted the database showed production volume and harvested acreage, while the EU trade statistics can be concentrated in "great detail" with information on specific exporters or importers and specific products.

The consumption figures are calculated by Freshfel on the basis of official figures with the same methodology that lies behind the annual Freshfel Consumption Monitor.

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