FreshPlaza: Early harvest for Greek apples

There’s been an earlier start for the Greek apple season, says Matoula Katsika, export and sales manager for Greek fruit exporter A.C. Kissavos. The harvest of their main apple variety is still about a month away, though: “This year’s apple harvest started two weeks earlier compared to the previous year. The first apples harvested are the Gala apple varieties. Τhe Greek production in these varieties is slightly reduced compared to last year. At the beginning of September, we will start picking the red varieties. Towards the end of that month, we start the well-known Granny Smith apples, as the wider area of Αgia produces excellent quality and color, due to the composition of its soil. This is the main variety that we export as Kissavos.”

Overall, there was a lack of colder temperatures, as well as a heatwave that struck Greece recently, Katsika explains. “The weather affects us directly. High temperatures significantly impacted the Greek apple production. The trees did not receive the required hours of cold temperatures, because we had a warm winter. However, the temperatures were also particularly high during the summer. We had a prolonged heat wave with over 42 degrees Celsius for several days in July. This had a negative impact on the size of the fruit, but fortunately not its quality.”

The wildfires in Greece had a devastating impact, most mostly in the residential and forest areas. This means Kissavos’ orchards were not affected by the fires, Katsika states: “The fires in Greece deeply affected the areas around Athens. Fortunately, we did not face any problem in the orchards. Of course, great damage was caused to residential and forest areas. It is sad to see such phenomena of human lives being lost, houses and property surrendered to the flames.”

As the cost of production and the risk of crops being damaged by the weather increases, Katsika feels a new approach is needed to deal with all of these factors. “When the entire world around you is changing, you can’t stand by and watch. The challenges faced by apple production due to climate change, the high cost of energy, fuel and pesticides push us to turn to new more resistant varieties and new cultivation methods, in order to obtain products with better quality characteristics and at a lower cost.”

Overall, despite the challenges, Katsika feels they’ve proven their worth to their clients over the past years and they will work hard to ensure nobody is let down this season: “During the many years of operation of the cooperative, we’ve managed to associate the name Kissavos with quality and safety for the consumer. However, this does not create complacency, but an even greater responsibility towards the markets. Let’s hope we will have a smooth year, without surprises,” she concludes.

For more information:
Matoula Katsika
A.C Kissavos
Tel: +30 24940 22261
Email: kissavosagiassales@gmail.com
https://kissavosgroup.gr