According to reports, Greek exports are currently hurdled by the lack of refrigerated trucks for the international transport of fruit and vegetables, mainly to Russia and other CIS countries; a situation caused in part by the lack of return loads due to the reduction of Greek food imports.
The problem has recently become even more intense with the start of the summer fruit export campaign; watermelon, peach, nectarine and grape shipments are all being affected.
At a meeting held at the Ministry of Transport, exporters requested an increase in the quota of triangular permits to trucks from third countries.
The Ministry stopped granting transit cards to carriers from third countries in order to protect the interests of Greek logistics operators. In practice, this prevented horticultural exports to these countries, leading to the loss of markets in favour of Greece's competitors.
Even though the main issue at hand is the lack of carriers to serve the needs of the country's fruit and vegetable exporters, the situation has also been aggravated by the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
Greek logistics operators have been urged to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the use of carriers from third countries so that the fruit and vegetables can arrive to more destinations and thereby gain a larger market share.
Source: agronews.gr
