Figures released by the National Statistics Office show today that in the fourth quarter of 2012, the volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 8.6 and 7.9 per cent respectively over the comparative quarter in 2011.

Gozitan farmers supplied 0.7 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 9.0 per cent of the total supply. The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 4.3 per cent, while the wholesale value increased by 5.4 per cent over the comparative quarter.

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables passing through official markets in the fourth quarter last year amounted to 8.1 million kilograms yielding €4.1 million. This represents a drop of 8.6 per cent in weight and a 7.9 per cent decline in the wholesale value over the comparative period in 2011.

The supply of fresh vegetables declined by 8.1 per cent to 7.8 million kilograms over the comparative quarter. Drops were registered in the supply of Potatoes (-52.6 per cent), Vegetable marrows (-19.6 per cent), Tomatoes (-15.5 per cent) and Cauliflowers (-15.1 per cent). The wholesale value of fresh vegetables decreased by 8.5 per cent to €3.8 million in the fourth quarter last year.

Likewise, fresh fruit supplied decreased by 18.8 per cent mainly on account of a decline in the availability of Oranges (-25.3 per cent) and Sweet oranges (-6.4 per cent). Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fruit fell marginally by 0.3 per cent, to €0.3 million.

Maltese farmers supplied 7.4 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables, a decline of 9.0 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011. During the quarter under review, the wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables went down by 9.4 per cent from €4.0 million to €3.6 million. The produce represented 91.0 per cent of the total supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fruit price index for the fourth quarter of 2012 increased by 17.93 points (+22.7 per cent) to stand at 97.04 points. The fresh fruit volume index dropped by 18.8 per cent to 53.28 points.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables price index went up by 1.05 points (+0.8 per cent), from 126.75 points in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 127.80 points in the corresponding quarter in 2012. The fresh vegetables volume index decreased by 6.75 points (-8.1 per cent) to 76.89 points in the fourth quarter of 2012.

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