Data supplied by the National Statistics Office show that the volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 8.8 and 3.9 per cent respectively in the second quarter this year.

The supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the second quarter this year amounted to 12.0 million kilograms, a drop of 8.8 per cent. The wholesale value also decreased by 3.9 per cent, from €5.5 million in the second quarter in 2011 to €5.3 million this year.

Gozitan farmers supplied the 6.8 per cent, amounting to 0.8 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables. The wholesale value decreased by 12.6 per cent over the comparative period in 2011.

Maltese farmers supplied 11.2 million kilograms (-7.8 per cent) of fresh fruit and vegetables, yielding €4.9 million. Overall, farmers on the mainland contributed 93.2 per cent of the total amount of fruit and vegetables on the market.

The volume of fresh vegetables fell by 9.5 per cent to 10.9 million kilograms over the comparative quarter in 2011. Declines were registered in the supply of Potatoes (-28.3 per cent), Cauliflowers (- 11.6 per cent), Sugar melons (-13.3 per cent) and Dry onions (-32.8 per cent). The wholesale value of fresh vegetables registered a drop of 3.9 per cent to €4.3 million in the second quarter this year.

Fresh fruit supply declined marginally by 0.1 per cent, mainly on account of a decrease in the availability of Peaches (-50.5 per cent) and Lemons (-26.3 per cent). These declines were compensated for with increases of 28.4 and 47.8 per cent in the supply of Early figs and Strawberries respectively. The wholesale value of fresh fruit decreased by 3.5 per cent, to €1.0 million.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fruit price index for the second quarter increased by 1.27 points (+1.1 per cent) to stand at 120.15 points. The fresh fruit volume index edged down by 0.2 points or 0.1 per cent to 156.46 points.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables price index increased by 5.66 points (+5.7 per cent) from 99.31 points in the second quarter of 2011 to 104.97 points this year. On the other hand, the ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables volume index decreased by 11.36 points (-9.5 per cent) to 107.97 points in the second quarter of 2012.

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