In restaurants in particular the trend towards a higher share of fruit and vegetables in meals is continuing. This is positive because more and more people are eating outside of the home. In stores consumers spent two percent more on fruit and vegetables. They bought the same amount of fruit and vegetables per visit to the store as in 2016, but the number of visits decreased, and with it the consumption at home.
The purchasing of fresh fruit and vegetables in the catering industry rose by thirteen percent compared to last year. This rise only partially compensates for the lower household purchase.
Consumers bought three percent less fresh fruit and vegetables in weight. They paid two percent more for this. They mainly bought more expensive products. This shows from information from GfK. These figures include purchases made online. According to the latest RIVM Voedsel Consumptie Peiling (Food Consumption Poll) (2012-2014) an adult eats an average of 139 grams of vegetable and 113 grams of fruit per day. This is under the daily recommended amount, which is 250 grams. Attention to consumption of fruit and vegetables at home is still needed. The Nationaal Actieplan Groenten en Fruit (National Plan of Action for Fruit and Veg) works towards this, including through Veggipedia.nl, a website full of information on portion size, recipes and tips for other moments of eating.
A third of vegetables purchases pre-processed
Of the purchased volume of fresh vegetables, 22 percent is pre-processed. Consumers spend 34 percent of their budget for vegetables on pre-processed products; in fruit it concerns a share of 3 percent. The sales of meal salads have risen. The volume-share in the vegetable sales of supermarkets is still small, at 2 percent. More was also spent on organic vegetables and fruit in the supermarket. The turnover in this product group rose by 5 percent. The popularity of meal boxes is reducing slightly. Two percent of the households bought a meal box at least once last year, the number of buyers decreased.