Fruit crops account for 17% of the value of the EU’s agricultural production and the fruit and vegetables supply chain has an estimated turnover of more than €120 billion with over 550,000 employees and around 1.4 million growers.
It is estimated that insect pests destroy approximately 14% of all potential food production globally. Therefore it is reasonable to estimate that fruit losses from pests and pathogens accounts for over €10 billion in revenue and 3 million tonnes of produce to the EU fruit industry.

New pests and pathogens
New and emerging pests (Drosophila suzukii), and quarantine pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, Xanthomonas fragariae and Xanthomonas arboricola pv. pruni have been identified as major phytosanitary risks and pose a major challenge to fruit production. Drosophila suzukii infestations have resulted in losses over €8 million in fruit crops in Northern Italy in 2010 and 2011 and more than €1.5 million for French strawberries in 2011. Further revenue losses of over €40 million have also been reported for Pseudomonas syringae damage to kiwifruit in Italy.
These pests and diseases are also a major concern in counties outside Europe. In the Pacific fruit growing regions of the USA, the estimated damage due to Drosophila suzukii has been over €400 million/year. In New Zealand Pseudomonas syringae is expected to cost the kiwifruit industry over €250 million over the next 5 years.

So these pathogens and Drosophila suzukii are a major concern and challenge to the fruit industry because their eradication or containment are no longer possible. Hence the development of targeted integrated pest management (IPM) is vital to minimise the economic impact on fruit production in the EU region.

DROPSA project and consortium
The DROPSA consortium consists of 26 partners from Europe, Asia, New Zealand and North America. DROPSA is a 4-year project running from January 2013 until December 2017.
At the end of the project DROPSA will deliver a cost effective approach that can be widely implemented by the European fruit sector.

On this website you will find information about:
• How quarantine pest and diseases are introduced into the EU and spread across the European fruit sector.
• Sustainable, effective and innovative solutions to control Drosophila suzukii, Pseudomonas syringae, Xanthomonas fragariae and Xanthomonas arboricola
• Economic analysis of the prevention and control strategies developed in the DROPSA project.