It’s been rough going in terms of the weather for Greek apricot growers. According to Nick Nafpliotis, company director of fresh produce exporter Greek & Fresh, a large percentage of the apricot crop in the Northern part of Greece was damaged.
“The Greek apricot season actually started about two-to-three weeks ago. Although at first the overall Greek production was projected to be quite similar to last year’s production, which was about 75.000 tons in total. However, due to a big hail storm happening in the beginning of April in the major production of Northern Greece, Chalkiidiki, about 70 to 80 per cent of the early and mid-varieties of the apricots were damaged,” Nafpliotis stated. “As if that wasn’t enough, we then had to endure extensive rainfall for about three weeks in May. This impacted the remaining apricots in the Northern part of Greece.”
Thankfully, the Southern regions of Greece had fewer issues with the weather, which means there is still availability for the apricots. Nafpliotis emphasizes demand is very strong and prices are increasing significantly: “The other major production area of Greece can be found in the south, around the city called Argos. This area has been mostly unaffected by any of the challenges with the weather. It has resulted in a strong demand for apricots from this region. In turn, prices for the apricots have increased by about 20 per cent compared to the prices of the previous season. Our apricot season is expected to finish in week 26 or 27, which would be by the end of June, maybe the beginning of July,” he concludes.
For more information:
Nick Nafpliotis
Greek and Fresh
Tel: +30 21 52 15 80 63
Email: Nick@greekandfresh.com
www.greekandfresh.com