Fruit and horticultural producer organizations in Portugal now have until September 30 to submit their operational programs and amendment requests for the following year, an additional 15 days compared to the previously set deadline of September 15. This change is set out in Order No. 430/2026/1 of September 11, which amends the rules of the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy (PEPAC) applicable to the National Program for Support to the Fruit and Horticultural Products Sector.
The calendar revision is due to the fact that the September 15 deadline coincided with the peak harvest period for some of the main fruit and horticultural productions, which made it difficult for producer organizations to fulfill the necessary obligations for submitting their operational programs. The order bases the amendment precisely on these difficulties caused by the previous calendar.
The change applies to all producer organizations covered by the scheme throughout the country, including those in Alentejo, and covers both the submission of operational programs and amendment requests for the following year. These instruments are part of the support scheme for the fruit and vegetable sector provided for in PEPAC and frame the interventions to be developed by producer organizations. The order does not create a new funding line nor does it establish additional allocation for the sector, merely amending the deadline for the submission of applications.
Order No. 430/2026/1 enters into force the day after its publication, that is, from September 12, with the new limit of September 30 applying to the procedures covered by the scheme.
