As Mr. Tsolas describes: “In recent years, we have planted, as we say among ourselves, ‘another Greece’ of kiwis. In Arta, mandarins are being uprooted to make way for kiwis. However, I disagree with estimates suggesting that our production could reach 400.000 tons. The climate has begun to become subtropical even in northern areas of our country, which prevents Hayward kiwis from accumulating the chilling hours they need to reach their maximum theoretical yield.”
“We are a 99% export-oriented company. We also cultivate and export citrus fruits. This year, Arta mandarins will enter the market from mid-November, and we estimate they will reach 20.000–25.000 tons, which is normal. We export them to Eastern Europe, while kiwis go to markets in Europe and the Arabian Peninsula.”
The Greek exporter believes that due to increased U.S. tariffs on imports from the EU and the euro-dollar exchange rate, exports to the U.S. will face an additional cost of around 25%. “Even so, I do not think that other markets will be pressured by any potential rerouting of kiwis initially intended for the U.S., since such a scenario will likely not involve large quantities.”
Finally, last season posed particular challenges for exporters, marked by quality issues that made storage difficult, long-distance exports risky, and early depletion of stocks necessary. Mr. Tsolas notes: “Greek exporters faced cases where the re-pricing of kiwis upon arrival in distant markets reached 30–35% due to quality problems.”
However, his company is preparing to enter a brand-new production environment this year that will largely protect it from such risks: “By September, our new state-of-the-art packing facility, dedicated exclusively to kiwis, will be ready. It is equipped with a six-channel electronic grader capable of filling 12 containers in eight hours, and cold storage with a capacity of 6.000 tons. This is a €12 million investment, and with it, we are making a serious step toward improving the quality assurance of our kiwis.”
For more information:
Dimitris Tsolas
Tsolas Fruit
Tel: +30 6944 272 731
Email: info@tsolasfruit.gr
https://tsolasfruit.gr/en/homepage/
