Food production chain includes all phases of food production (including farmed animal production prior to slaughter, growing arable crops, vegetables, fruit, hunting, fishing and harvesting wild products) processing, preparation and catering and marketing (including import, storage, transport, distribution, sale or supply) of food/foodstuffs.

growing of fruits, nuts, seeds, vegetables, flowers, both in the open and under glass;

Holdings with special conditions of production (point 1 above) include, for example, holdings specialising in growing olives or grapes or fruit and vegetables in the open or in fattening cattle on grass and only requiring labour for a limited number of months.

A specific derogation to the prohibition on cultivating fruits and vegetables including table potatoes should be provided for avoiding that in case of regionalisation this does not lead to a disruption of the production whilst minimizing any effect on distortion of competition.

In the fruit, vegetables, plants and floricultural sector, measures have been introduced to improve farm productivity and product quality, structure the production and distribution chains, develop local processed products and maintain certain traditional production (vanilla, essential oils, etc.), with a view to supporting the local marketing, processing and export sales of those products.

Whereas it is desirable to insert in that new regulation the main provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3285/83 of 14 November 1983 laying down general rules for the extension of certain rules issued by producers' organizations in the fruit and vegetables sector (4), of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1319/85 of 23 May 1985 on the reinforcement of supervision of the application of Community rules on fruit and vegetables (5), of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2240/88 of 19 July 1988 fixing, for peaches, lemons and oranges, the rules for applying Article 16b of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables (6), of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1121/89 of 27 April 1989 on the introduction of an intervention threshold for apples and cauliflowers (7), and of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1198/90 of 7 May 1990 establishing a Community register of citrus cultivation (8);

in the case of the production of perennial crop products (fruit growing, vines and hops) provided the following conditions are met:

(c)ground intended for the cultivation of fruit and vegetable crops which are normally in direct contact with the soil and normally eaten raw, for a period of 10 months preceding the harvest of the crops and during the harvest itself.