Be the first to comment!Volume of fresh fruit & veg down but wholesale value up
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In the first quarter this year, the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables passing through the official markets declined by 10.5 per cent, while the wholesale value increased by 17.2 per cent compared to the corresponding quarter last year.
Fresh fruit and vegetable supplies for the first quarter of 2011 dropped to 10.1 million kilograms, from 11.2 million kilograms in the first quarter last year. The wholesale value rose by 17.2 per cent, amounting to €5.2 million.
The volume of fresh vegetables fell by 12.0 per cent to 9.5 million kilograms over the comparative period last year. Declines were registered in the supply of Tomatoes (-26.3 per cent), Cauliflowers (-17.1 per cent), and Vegetable marrows (-9.9 per cent). In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables advanced by 21.3 per cent to €4.48 million in the first three months of 2011.
The supply of fresh fruit registered an increase of 24.3 per cent, mainly due to Oranges (+36.7 per cent) and Sweet oranges (+33.6 per cent). The wholesale value of fresh fruit decreased by 3.4 per cent, to €0.7 million.
Maltese farmers supplied 9.1 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables, yielding €4.6 million. This produce represented 90.6 per cent of the total supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the quarter under review.
Gozitan farmers supplied 0.9 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 9.4 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value decreased by 1.1 per cent over the comparative quarter in 2010.
The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fruit price index declined by 43.85 points (-23.2 per cent) from 188.97 points in the first quarter last year to 145.12 in the first quarter this year. For the period under review, the fresh fruit volume index went up by 15.99 points (+24.3 per cent) to 81.74 points.
The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables price index went up by 35.34 points (+40.0 per cent) from 88.44 points in the first quarter of 2010 to 123.78 points in the corresponding period this year. Meanwhile the quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables volume index fell by 12.76 (-12.0 per cent) to 93.92 points in the first quarter of 2011.
