"We are within a hair's breadth of finishing the sweet potato harvest. The last of them will be harvested by the end of this week", says Mr. Panagiotis Georgoulis, owner of Georgoulis Glykopatates, a specialized sweet potatoes grower and packer company in Messinia, Greece. According to him, sweet potato fields have offered increased volume lately, but generally the season has been marked by a medium yield: "As for now, we experience about 30 tons per hectare but the overall season's yield is between 20 and 25 tons per hectare. This is because we faced problems from the extreme heat of the past months. Grower prices currently stand at 0,70 euros/kg, which is a fair price and even good if you are a farmer with increased yield."
Having finished the harvest, his attention now switches to trading his stock. He's optimistic about it: "We have a collaboration with a major retail chain that is active all over Europe, so our products are being commercialized both in the domestic and foreign markets, such as Rumania and Bulgaria. We see strong demand and for this reason we believe that our stocks will be depleted by mid-March, which is quite early. Our company possesses a modern packing plant, properly equipped to meet the high standards of the European super market chains. We are open to new collaborations, even of spot character, but this year there isn't enough product to expand."
Sweet potato cultivation is gaining popularity among the growers of Messinia, which constitutes the heart of this crop in Greece. As the local exporter describes: "Only six years ago there were here only two hectares and today the cultivation acreage reaches about 120 hectares. It's a very attractive crop, given the fact that it needs few treatments during its growing phase. It's almost an organic crop," says the owner of Georgoulis Glykopatates which is a pioneer in the Greek sweet potato sector. "We are interested in expanding our sweet potatoes plantations but what concerns us is that sweet potatoes need a lot of water, as they are a summer vegetable. This is the factor that may halt their overall expansion in our area, as there is uncertainty about the future water sufficiency," concludes Mr. Georgoulis.
For more information:
Panagiotis Georgoulis
Georgoulis Glykopatates
Mob: +30 694 579 6116