The Greek lemon season is reaching its finish line at the end of this month, having run a good marketing course. Mr. Christos Georgas, president of the Corinthian cooperative Kiato Coop, which specializes in this product, says: "There are only a few fruits remaining on the trees at this moment. They are of Maglino and Karystino varieties, they show no quality problems, and their calibers are good. Currently, our cooperative is gathering the fruits and selling them to packers at 0,80 per kg, which is rather good. Demand is high, and there will be no fruits left for May. This is the normal scenario for our region."
© Fotis Karabetsos | FreshPlaza.com
The current season is considered good by the president of the Greek cooperative: "Despite the fact that the average yield per hectare was moderate, the lack of lemons in the market led to good prices. Our cooperative was selling mostly at 0,90 to 0,95 euros per kg. There were increased requests for our products, but we preferred to secure them for our long-standing partners. As for the next season, there are no problems so far, but it is too early to assess the production developments. However, the growers of the cooperative always do their best to secure the highest quality."
"One big problem that we have to face is the lack of irrigation water. Kiato and other areas of Corinthia have long been waiting for the dam of Asopos, which has been stuck and not been completed for years. This has discouraged quite some growers and has led to a decrease in lemon cultivation in our area. New plantings are not intended to expand the crop, but just to rejuvenate the orchards," Mr. Georgas stresses.
© Fotis Karabetsos | FreshPlaza.com
According to him, the crop that has experienced the greatest blow from this water lack is the apricot. "About 4 to 5 years ago, only our cooperative was producing 1.000 tons of apricots. Now this number has already almost zeroed. Apricot trees have a higher need for water, and growers, not being able to irrigate them, have abandoned them and let them wither. This is the story for all apricot orchards from Kiato to Corinthos. Anyway, the rest of Corinthia cultivates mostly the Bebekou variety, and it enters the markets in June."
For more information:
Christos Georgas
Kiato Coop
Tel: +30 274 202 4547
Email: [email protected]
https://www.kiatocoop.gr/
