For the upcoming Greek kiwifruit season, which usually starts in mid-October, Konstantinos Maragzokis, Agronomist and Business Developer at Nespar Greece, expects the production of the Hayward variety to reach 3 million kilos. “There will be fewer fruits per tree, about 10% less than last season, but they will be bigger. The most saleable sizes are 27, 30 and 33 and this campaign (unlike in the previous one) there are a lot of those, which means it will be a good season.”Besides supplying the right sizes, he explains that, in order for the fruit to be commercially successful, it needs to meet certain specifications, such as dry matter and hardness when it comes to color or taste. It ensures that it will have a long life and it can be sold until end of spring.
All of their kiwifruits are free of hormones, and that contributes to obtaining a special shape, color, taste and a long shelf life in their fruit. "Having a great quality allows you to make long distance shipments in order to earn the best prices,” Maragzokis explains.
One of the most important of these destinations, despite the distance, is China, a market where Greek kiwifruit has already been present for about 10 years. "The consumers already recognize them, as I believe we have a superior quality compared to other countries, like Italy or France. In fact, this season, we expect to double our loads for China,” he assures.
When it comes to prices, Maragzokis says that it is still difficult to predict how things will go, “but if you have the quality, the sales are much easier.” In this sense, and to facilitate promotion in overseas markets, Nespar Greece is in a cluster with another three companies.
“Our group was present in SIAL - Canada; in September, we participated at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong and now we are going to visit WOP - DUBAI."
Lastly, it is worth noting that Nespar is involved in the Premium European Kiwi project, which is co-funded by the European Commission, the Greek Ministry of Agriculture and by funds from the participating organizations.
For more information:
Konstantinos Maragkozis
Nespar (Greece)
Tel 003-259-10-61-779
Email: k.maragkozis@nespar.gr
www.nespar.gr
Author: Juan Zea Estellés / Yzza Ibrahim