Wholesale value of fresh fruit and veg in Gozo down 16% in Q3 – NSO

by Gozo News · November 12, 2014

The volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables on a national level decreased by 0.6 and 6.2 per cent respectively in the third quarter this year when compared to the corresponding period in 2013.

Data from the National Statistics Office today show that Gozitan farmers supplied 12.3 per cent of the total supply, amounting to 1.5 million kilograms. The wholesale value declined by 15.9 per cent to €0.6 million.

The supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in the third quarter on a national level, amounted to 12.1 million kilograms, a decrease of 0.6 per cent. Similarly, the wholesale value dropped by 6.2 per cent to €4.5 million this year.

The volume of fresh vegetables increased marginally by 0.2 per cent to 11.5 million kilograms over the comparative period in 2013. Increases were registered in the supply of Cabbages (+13.8 per cent), Cauliflowers (+11.2 per cent) and Watermelons (+8.1 per cent).

On the other hand, a shortfall in the supply of Lettuce (-11.6 per cent) and Sugar melons (-9.0 per cent) was recorded. Furthermore, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables decreased by 4.0 per cent to €3.9 million.

The supply of fresh fruit dropped by 13.0 per cent, mainly on account of a decrease in the availability of Strawberries (-61.3 per cent), Bambinella (-35.2 per cent) and Grapes (-3.9 per cent). Similarly, the wholesale of fresh fruit declined by 20.0 per cent to €0.5 million.

Maltese farmers supplied 10.6 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables, yielding €3.8 million. Their produce accounted to 87.7 per cent of the total supply of fresh fruit and vegetables for the quarter under review.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fruit price index for the third quarter fell by 4.89 points (-6.3 per cent) to 73.33 points. Additionally, the fresh fruit volume index dropped by 13.97 points (-13.0 per cent) to 93.71 points.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables price index declined by 3.08 points (-3.6 per cent) from 85.62 points in the third quarter of 2013 to 82.54 points in the corresponding quarter this year. In contrast, the fresh vegetables volume index increased marginally by 0.17 points (+0.2 per cent) to 111.14 points.