Greece's kiwifruit exports and prices last week showed an improvement over the same period last year. The volume shipped is impressively large considering the country is only at the beginning of the export period. Meanwhile, mandarins and Clementine and Naveline oranges are also yielding reasonable results.
According to data from the Directorate of Documentation and Statistics of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food, fresh fruit and vegetable export figures between 8 and 14 November are as follows:
- Oranges: 10,370 tonnes, compared to 2,390 tonnes in the same period last year.
- Mandarins: 2,698 tonnes, compared to 1,119 tonnes last year.
- Lemons: 265 tonnes, compared to 51 tonnes last year.
- Kiwis: 28,436 tonnes, compared with last year's 4,082 tonnes.
- Grapes: 85,813 tonnes, compared with 54,249 tonnes last year.
Regarding export regulations, Mr Giorgos Polihronakis, Special Advisor to the Association of Greek Businesses, Exporters and Distributors of Fruit and Vegetable Juices INCOFRUIT – HELLAS, pointed out that "we welcome the statement from the Minister of Rural Development and Food about the plans to intensify controls on citrus (and other products) to ensure the strict implementation of the best quality standards."