Expectations in Argolida, one of the main orange and mandarin producing regions of Greece, remain reserved for the new season's production. Mr. Petros Soursos, shareholder of Soursos S.A., states: "It seems that the production of Navelina will be reduced in some areas here, but on the other hand, we will have larger fruit sizes. The rains that fell at the turn from September to October were 'gold' for the growers. However, I believe it is still too early to say much more about the upcoming harvest, which will begin in early November. Certainly, the amount of water the crops will receive until then will be an important factor for the final outcome."
© Soursos S.A.
Mr. Soursos expresses a similar view regarding mandarins: "In Clementines, too, it seems that there will be some reduction, but with good sizes. The harvest will begin at the end of October to early November. As for Nova mandarins, they appear to be at last year's levels, but overall, in mandarins as well, the key will be the rainfall."
© Soursos S.A.
The major difference this season for Soursos S.A. concerns the company itself, as this year it will handle its fruit from its new packing house and with the state-of-the-art Global Scan 7 sorting machine by Maf Roda. "The machine was installed last year, but this year we will put into operation 100% of its capacity. In short, it sorts with the use of artificial intelligence, processing external defects by analyzing more than 100 images for each fruit, while thanks to Biotech technology, it detects rotten spots. It also offers automation of all handling of the fruit, from reception to sorting and packaging, as well as automatic handling of the packaging," notes the Greek entrepreneur.
© Soursos S.A.
Such a development naturally creates not only new expectations for the Greek company, but also new demands upon itself. Mr. Soursos explains: "With such a high-quality fruit sorting and a capacity of 40 tons per hour, obviously, greater demands are created for our work, both in quantity and quality. Local growers see the capabilities of our company and follow the advice we give them. We advise them to renew many of their aged trees with younger ones, in order to increase their production, while at the same time we make sure to pay good prices for their products."
© Soursos S.A.
"However, obviously, we cannot rely solely on Argolida's production to support our capacity. Therefore, we also receive fruit from Aetolia-Acarnania, which has larger and more organized crops, and this year it seems it will reach last year's production volume, as reduced yields are being offset by young orchards entering production," concludes the Greek exporter.
For more information:
Petros Soursos
Soursos S.A.
Tel: +30 275 104 2202
Mob: +30 694 255 6737
Email: [email protected]
https://www.soursos.com/index.php?lang=en
