Bitter Fruit - Socio-economic Issues in Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Supply Chains of Dutch Supermarkets – The Case of Ahold

Imports of fresh fruit and vegetables from developing countries to the Netherlands are increasing and the majority of these imports is handled by the Dutch supermarkets. Although exports of fresh fruits and vegetables (FFV) provide jobs for developing countries and are an important source of income for many producing countries, this study found that precarious working conditions and unsustainable practices in (tropical) food supply chains. This relates to structural factors in the producing countries such as poverty, weak legislation and the weak implementation thereof. However, these factors, along with a suitable climate, also allow these countries to produce FFV competitively. This raises the question of how supermarkets, as the gatekeepers of the FFV supplies to consumers, are dealing with this. Based on field research and literature review, this study discusses and analyses socio-economic conditions in a number of FFV supply chains of Dutch retailers.