Elios Group is an agricultural cooperative founded in 2007 and based in northern Greece, near Sparta. It has 20 members, mostly devoted to the production of pomegranates, but also to Kontoula pears and some peaches, nectarines and citrus. “We started with a small production, but every season the trees become more productive and new members are also joining us, so we continue to develop,” says George Mitrakos, accountant of Elios Fruit. Last season, the cooperative reached a total production of 1,000 tonnes, which could increase to 2,000 next year. When it comes to varieties, they´ll begin in mid-August to late September with the Akko, then from early October to early March, they´ll have two varieties: Wonderful and Afrata. The latter, very popular in Peloponnese, is easy to peel and to remove the seeds and has a very sweet taste because of the micro climate where it’s grown.
The Afrata will, in fact, be the first variety that the cooperative will export, as until now it had been limited to the domestic market, where the fruit is distributed to large retailers and the central fruit markets of Athens and Thessaloniki. “We are now looking to find export markets, so anyone interested can contact us to receive a sample.”
As regards the pomegranate season that has recently ended, George assures the results have been satisfactory. “The Russian market was closed, but many people inside Greece have now heard of the fruit and production is growing bigger every year. Pomegranates are not only consumed fresh, but also processed into juice, and focusing on that is part of our current strategy.”
George believes that the main reason for the growing popularity of pomegranates in Greece is that “It has more than 15 benefits on our health, and people want to consume healthy products. There are many young people who now eat them every day, but also older people with health issues. At Christmas, everybody wants to eat pomegranates.”
For more information:
A.C. ELIOS
George Mitrakos
tel 0030 27350 23973
cel 0030 6942 553339
email: giorgos@eliosfruit.gr
web: www.eliosfruit.gr
Author: Juan Zea Estellés / Yzza Ibrahim