After a very slow start to the year, the past few weeks have been a significant improvement in terms of demand for both Greek apples and pears, says Paris Karastergios, import-export coordinator for Greek produce exporter Kastargiou P. Bros S.A.: "The past few months after New Year's, the demand was slowly growing both for apples and pears, but not at the expected level. Stocks were higher than last season. In April, after the Orthodox Easter, the demand has picked up really quickly for both products."
Demand is strong, but this late in the season not all varieties have plenty of stocks available, Karastergios emphasizes. "The availability for Greek apples is currently low, especially for the Red Delicious, Fuji and Golden Delicious varieties. There's still quite enough stock of Granny Smith apples, especially as the exports to the Gulf have been paused at the moment. For pears, Blanquilla pears will still be in stock until the end of May for export, and then some quantities will still be available for the domestic market after that."
© Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
According to Karastergios, Eastern European countries have become a prime market for the export of apples in 2026: "The main export market of our top fruits remains Israel, followed by Jordan and some shipments to Saudi Arabia. Especially for apples though, after New Year's we started moving quite a lot of quantities to Balkan countries, with Bulgaria being the main market, as well as Kosovo and Serbia."
"The major challenge this season is of course the war in the Middle East, in which countries that have been receiving our fruit are involved," Karastergios continues. "At the moment, all European suppliers are still troubled to export either to the UAE or to more distant destinations of Asia, and as a result, bigger quantities of top fruits have to be sold inside the EU, or to other countries nearby. Prices are pushed down, and the profit margin shrinks even more, as storage costs keep rising as well. Thankfully, our established clientele is absorbing the quantities that we still have in stock; thus, we will end the campaign in time. However, we have to bear in mind that volumes were lower this season; if we have the same volume as last season, we would be struggling to sell all of our stock."
"Lower volumes this season led to higher prices initially, compared to last season. However, over the course of the season, the prices have not risen significantly, at least as much as they should, in order to cover the storage costs that have occurred. I think it's time that all top fruit growers in Greece reconsider changing the varieties that they grow. We have to start planting newer varieties that have better yields for the growers, and better marketing possibilities for the marketers," Karastergios concludes.
For more information:
Paris Karastergios
Karastergiou P. Bros S.A.
Tel: +30 24610 26940
Mob: +30 693 2469117
[email protected]
