The production of kiwis in Greece should be higher than it was last year, says Apostolos Tsinoglou, owner of the Greek fruit exporter Europe Export: "This year, the Greek harvest of kiwifruit has been about 10 per cent higher compared to the previous season. The reason behind this, in my opinion, are the new estates that have now come into full production. For us as a company, this is actually the opposite of what we would like to happen. Lower production is beneficial for our business."
As the weather was rather hot in Greece this year, and there was not as much rain as usual, the kiwis will be of a larger size this season, Tsinoglou states. "Greece has had to deal with high temperatures and insufficient rains. Both the quality and the sizes of the kiwis have been affected by this weather. On average, the kiwis will be a size larger. On another note, the brix levels have been higher this season and we were able to start the harvest earlier than we would have expected beforehand."
The development of the kiwis could prove a challenges for the overall season according to Tsinoglu: "The biggest challenge this year is the earliness of the kiwifruit, due to the weather, which has affected sugar levels. Our goal is to make the sales by the middle of January, we'll have to see what market is most suitable at that time of the season."
Tsinoglou emphasizes that his company would like to expand its footprint in the Brazilian market this season. "In Brazil, the demand for kiwis has increased and the market is also responding very well to our prices. The biggest advantage for us in this market, is that the Greek kiwi is becoming widely known over there, resulting in increased demand for our product."
In turn, the increased demand has an effect on the prices, Tsinoglou explains. "Prices are up about 15 to 20 cents from last year, thanks to increased demand. For our company, our target is to export an additional 100 containers this season. We are off to a strong start and anticipate exceeding our target by a lot," Tsinoglou concludes.
For more information:
Europe Export 2016 P.C.
Tel: +30 69 066 66 996
Email: [email protected]
www.europeexportsfruits.com