More kiwis can be expected from this year's kiwi harvest in Greece, says Apostolos Tsinoglou, owner of the Greek fruit exporter Europe Export: "This year, the Greek production of kiwifruit has been increased by about 15 per cent, thanks to the new estates that have come into production. This isn't ideal, we would actually rather have a reduction in terms of production."
The weather did play a part in the quality of the kiwi harvest, as the sizes will be slightly smaller according to Tsinoglou. "It was quite hot this year in Greece, with little rain. This affected the quality of the kiwis, mostly when looking at the sizes, as the kiwis are about one size smaller on average. That being said, brix levels are higher this year and the harvest has been earlier than in the previous season."
For the upcoming season, Tsinoglou hopes to expand the company's footprint in the Americas: "This year, we will have Israel and Brazil as new markets. We will load quite a few products to Brazil. In addition, we will address the markets of Canada and America. Plus, we will ship to India if they can go along with our prices for kiwis."
A drop in pricing as the season moves forward could prove difficult, Tsinoglou states. "The biggest challenge this year, is that we don't know how the price will cope after December. From what we saw with the Chilean kiwi, their price was high and then the price dropped later in the season. As such, I think the challenge will be to have a profitable year for everyone involved."
Overall, Europe Export hopes to increase its total export volumes by 100 containers. "The prices are similar to last year, maybe there will be an increase overall. We should have the answer to this in about ten days. For our company, our goal is to export an additional 100 containers this season, which is about a 30% increase from last year's loads. This increase is possible thanks to new customers and new markets we're addressing," Tsinoglou explains.
For more information:
Apostolos Tsinoglou
Europe Export 2016 P.C.
Tel: +30 69 066 66 996
Email: [email protected]
www.europeexportsfruits.com