Demand for Greek apples is decreasing slightly, while demand for Greek pears seems to be increasing this month, says Paris Karastergios, import-export coordinator for Greek produce exporter Kastargiou P. Bros S.A.: "The demand is moving in opposite directions for apples and pears. While the demand for pears has been picking up in November, the demand for apples remained stable, and maybe it's declining a little. I hope that in January the demand for apples is going to start increasing again."
© Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
According to Karastergios, Israel is the prime export market for Greek pears, while apples are sent to several major markets. "The biggest market for Greek pears in general is the Israeli market, in which we export both Santa Maria and Blanquilla pears, our two biggest in volume varieties. The demand in Israel is really high at the moment, as local quantities have been much lower this season, compared to previous years. As for apples, there is satisfying demand in all of our main markets, such as Israel, Jordan, and Egypt; however, their target prices are quite low for us, given the production and storage costs in Greece."
© Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
Looking to the future, Karastergios is definitely interested in exporting to new markets, but it's not always as clear-cut, as some market preferences make it difficult to get a foothold in these regions this season: "We're interested in entering the Omani market this season, with apples and pears; however, we haven't started doing it yet. Malaysia is also an interesting market to export to; however, its need for smaller sizes of apples prevents us from offering our produce to this market at the moment."
© Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
Next to the current demand, the competition that Greek top fruit has to deal with is also significant, Karastergios explains. "One of the current challenges is the low demand we're experiencing in November, in Europe and the Middle East, just before the Christmas sales. On the other hand, there's the fierce competition that our products face from countries with lower production costs. Top fruit yield in Greece was lower this season, while in the meantime, the production costs have been going up."
"I sincerely hope that the demand is going to pick up in December, for all products and especially top fruits. However, I think that around late-February or early-March is the period when the sales of apples and pears will start climbing, and then we'll have to be ready to cover the demand," Karastergios concludes.
For more information:
Paris Karastergios
Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
Tel: +30 24610 26940
Mob: +30 693 2469117
Email: [email protected]
