In the first quarter of 2015, Gozitan farmers contributed 0.7 million kilogrammes of fresh fruit and vegetables, 7.9 per cent of the total supply. In volume terms, this produce decreased by 6.0 per cent, while the wholesale value went up by 40.0 per cent over the comparative quarter in 2014, the National Statistics Office said today.

On a national level the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 14.1 per cent, whereas the wholesale value increased by 37.8 per cent over the comparative period in 2014.

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables sold through official markets amounted to 8.9 million kilogrammes, yielding €6.4 million. This represented a drop of 14.1 per cent in weight and a 37.8 per cent growth in wholesale value over the corresponding period in 2014.

Fresh vegetable supply went down by 14.5 per cent to 8.4 million kilogrammes over the comparative quarter in 2014. Decreases of 72.6, 60.5 and 39.6 per cent were registered in the supply of green onions, cucumber and vegetable marrows respectively. In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables increased by 45.8 per cent to €5.6 million.

The supply of fresh fruit declined by 6.1 per cent, mainly on account of a drop of 27.0 per cent in the availability of strawberries. However, the wholesale value of fresh fruit increased by 1.2 per cent to €0.8 million.

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Maltese farmers decreased by 14.8 per cent over the corresponding quarter in 2014. Maltese farmers supplied 8.2 million kilogrammes of fresh fruit and vegetables, 92.1 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value of such produce went up by 37.5 per cent, from €4.2 million to €5.7 million.

The quarterly All Items fresh fruit price index increased by 11.69 points (8.4 per cent) to 150.80 points. In contrast, the respective volume index declined by 4.69 points (6.1 per cent) to 71.97 points.

The quarterly All Items fresh vegetables price index went up by 65.32 points (70.7 per cent) to 157.73 points. On the other hand, the respective volume index decreased by 13.82 points (14.5 per cent) to 81.31 points.

Photograph: Alain Salvary

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