Greece: We eat fruit and vegetables from third countries, spectacular rise in imports

Fruits

Vegetables

Greece

Regulation & Compliances

Market & Price Trends

Published Mar 2, 2024

Tridge summary

Greece has seen a 20.19% increase in fruit and vegetable imports in the first two months of 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Incofruit Exporters Association - Hellas. This surge is due to the EU Commission's policy of allowing large-scale imports from third countries, leading to lower prices for imported goods and unfair competition for EU producers. The article urges Greek control authorities to enforce strict quality controls on these imports, ensuring they meet the same standards as EU-produced goods, including equal working conditions and the absence of pesticide residues. It also calls for similar checks on exported products to maintain their reputation and boost exports.

Disclaimer: The above summary was generated by a state-of-the-art LLM model and is intended for informational purposes only. It is recommended that readers refer to the original article for more context.

Original content

Imported fruit and vegetables are increasing in Greek food stores, as shown by the data of the Incofruit Exporters Association - Hellas. The figures vindicate farmers across the EU who blame the Commission's policy, which gives the "green light" for massive imports of agricultural products from third countries, while at the same time European products remain unsold or are sold at prices below cost. Thus we see the importation of increased quantities of fruit and vegetables continuing in the first two months of 2024 (by +20.19% compared to the equivalent of 2023). Specifically, according to the provisional data, in January and February 2024, Greece imported 128,964 tons of fruit and vegetables, compared to 107,302 tons in the corresponding two months of 2023. The main imports concerned: a) 63,467 tons of potatoes, compared to 53,644 in 2023 (+18, 31%), coming from Egypt followed by Cyprus and France (based on 11-month official data) b) 40,348 tons of bananas compared to 37,834 in ...

Source: Agrotypos