The Greece kiwi season has come to its conclusion and although there have been challenges, one exporter managed to sell all the available kiwifruit they had. The exporter also increased its market share in the United Kingdom, which is their most important market.
Christina Manosis, sales manager for Greek kiwifruit exporter Zeus, states that there have been few changes in the European market over the past few years. “The European market has been a bit stagnant lately, with less growth than we had hoped for. As the European market is becoming very fragmented. Opportunities to increase the volumes of kiwifruit are limited.
"For Zeus, we have managed to increase our exports to the United Kingdom, which is the most important market for us. The market is so important, that about 50% of the Greek kiwifruit that is sent to the UK supermarkets originates from the Zeus packhouse. Other than that, there have been no significant changes in the European markets. However, we remain active in this market, as we steadily supply European countries.”
Dealing with the coronavirus definitely left its mark on the world trade business, Manosis explains. “The overseas clients have changed their mentality, in being a lot more cautious with their orders due to the market being unstable. These clients plan the amount of stocks they want to have in their supermarkets very carefully, which means orders have slowed down a bit in certain countries. This has not given us any real problems though, as we still were able to sell all of our kiwifruit this season.”
Competition is growing when it comes to kiwis in the European market. With Italy having become a serious player, Turkish growers are now increasing their kiwi production as well. Zeus has been keeping an eye on their developments for years: “Since the early 2000’s, we’ve been monitoring the Turkish kiwi market and even visited a couple of orchards in the region. We have to keep a close eye on them and can’t ignore the fact that Turkey has the potential to become a major player in kiwis. We do have our advantages though, as Greece is a part of the European Union. This means we don’t have to pay the taxes that the Turks have to pay. So the only thing left for us to do is to keep on top of the market’s needs. In the end, competition is good for everyone, as it’ll force us to stay on top of our game.” Manosis concludes.
For more information:
Christina Manosis
Zeus Kiwi SA
Tel. +30 2351 053559
Dir. Line +30 2351 045395
Email: christinam@zeuskiwi.gr
www.zeuskiwi.gr