Greek citrus cultivation is not as large as that of Spain or South Africa, but the Greek fruit exporter Greek and Fresh has still seen solid demand for their citrus from Eastern Europe, says company director Nick Nafpliotis: “Overall, there’s been a strong demand for mandarins since the beginning of the season, right until the beginning of the new year. Greece has kept or even increased its market share in Eastern Europe, Baltic and Germany. Quality has been very good, despite the extensive rainfalls from end November until mid-December. As a company, we export Navalinas, Navels, Lane late, Valencia, Clementines, Nova and Ortanique.”
According to Nafpliotis “Greece has been increasing its citrus plantations in the last ten years, especially for Lane late, Nova and lately on Afourer mandarins. The expansion has mainly taken place in the mid-West, which is the Messolonghi region. This region provides ample land with good water availability and it is well located for the citrus packing houses.”
The strongest markets for Greek citrus are traditionally the Eastern Europe countries, such as Poland Hungary, Czech and Slovakia, as well as the Balkans, Germany, and the Baltic countries. “Greek citrus is focusing heavily on the EU exports, whereas the other countries are more global exporters, due to their much larger production which is about three to five times bigger than Greece,” Nafpliotis explains.
“In Europe, Greece is keeping up thanks to lower production costs and more competitive transport costs towards the Eastern European markets. The latter have given a slight additional edge to the Greek citrus, because due to the energy crisis these costs have increased disproportionally from Spain.”
Nafpliotis feels that their citrus season will be a success, but not without its challenges, as getting the proper workforce isn’t as easy as it once was: “We expect a continuous good demand for oranges, like Lane late and Valencia, as well as for Ortanique mandarins. I expect that the main challenge for the sector will be the limited labor that is available, which can limit the export potential for us,” he concludes.
For more information:
Nick Nafpliotis
Greek and Fresh
Tel: +30 215 215 8063
Email: [email protected]
www.greekandfresh.com