MADRID, June 27 (UPI) -- The recent E. coli outbreak in Germany has caused more than $70 million worth of damage to the Spanish fruit and vegetable sector, officials said.
Spain's Agriculture and Environment Minister Rosa Aguilar said an initial estimate of about $73 million has been sent to the European Commission for review, El Pais reported Monday.
Spanish fruit and vegetable producers have already been offered compensation for the loss of sales from the European Commission fund initially estimated at $285 million per week.
The compensation would cover cucumber, pepper, tomato and lettuce growers who were forced to withdraw their produce when the outbreak occurred.
Aguilar said consumer confidence is recovering in the produce sector but there is still a lot of ground to be made up.
The outbreak has infected at least 3,000 people and has killed at least 42 people in Germany.
