THE APRICOTS MARKET - AN EU PERSPECTIVE

As part of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), the CMO fruits & vegetables sets the framework for a proper functioning of the European apricots production, processing and marketing in a globalised economy. By the means of producer organisations and their respective Operational Programmes, the CMO supports, for example, the grouping of supply, investment in production and marketing with non-repayable funds. However, a low level of market share of these POs as well as the requirement of increased vertical and horizontal integration pose new challenges to the CMO. In this situation, Commission services have entered an open dialogue with all stakeholders in the sector to further simply regulations, increase flexibility and enhance competitiveness. This article represents solely the views of its author and cannot in any circumstances be regarded as the official position of the Commission.