The Greek kiwi season is not as bothered by the world pandemic as some other sectors within the fruit and vegetable trade. The Greeks have produced more kiwis than ever before, and business has continued even after the Greek government announced extra measures to fight the virus. Greek kiwi exporter Proto feels next season could have even more volumes, up to 300,000 tons if the weather is favorable.

Despite everything that’s going on in the world, the Greeks are having an exceptional kiwi season, say Nikos Pardalis and George Kallatsis of Greek kiwi exporter Proto. “The Greek season has been pretty normal. In the beginning of the season, sizes were expected to be smaller than last year. However, it turned out that the average weight was around 100 grams, similar to the previous season. The average shape of the fruit was not ideal, as flat and round kiwifruit were present in a larger than usual percentage. Botrytis was also present both in Greek and Italian fruit which affected the packing process, but the overall quality outcome was normal without major issues.” Pardalis explains.

The demand for kiwis has not dropped with the coronavirus in mind. According to Pardalis, there has only been one small period where volumes exported had a small dip: “Sales were very strong from the beginning, we experienced a small decline in January, but it has picked up again after the mid of February and continued at the same and even higher tempo. This has been an exceptional kiwi season and is a big step towards establishing Greek kiwi as the major origin of the Northern Hemisphere. Greek production was significantly larger this season with approximately 220,000 to 230,000 tons, an increase of about 50,000 to 70,000 tons in comparison to last season. Proto managed 15,500 tons, which was the biggest quantity of any Greek packer.”

Read the full article here (freshplaza.com – 23^rd April 2020)

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