Greece believes that the initial emergency support measures for peach and nectarine producers, as well as the additional support for other fruits and vegetables approved in August, have not alleviated the strong impact of the Russian ban on producers.
The extraordinary measures taken by the European Commission to stabilise the markets were a step in the right direction, even though they could not be fully exploited by Greek growers, since most of the harvest (75%) was carried out earlier and the production was already on the market at very low prices.
Russia was the main export destination for Greek agricultural products, and peaches and nectarines, which are highly perishable, dominated these exports. Russia accounted for about 30-35% of the country's total peach and nectarine shipments.
The search for alternative destinations is extremely difficult, taking into account the economic situation in Greece. Additionally, growers had made large investments and efforts to cover this market, even adapting their production to the specific requirements of Russian importers.
Meanwhile, the devaluation of the Russian currency has led to a further decline in producer prices, which this year have ranged between 0.12 and 0.29 Euro per kilo compared with the 0.50, 0.60 and 0.80 Euro per kilo of previous years. Producer prices have dropped this season by 75%.
Greece therefore requests peach and nectarine producers to be compensated in areas severely affected by the crisis, to support them and to cover at least a portion of their income.