This year’s strawberry season in Greece has gotten off to an exceptionally good start, says Christian Vogelsang, buyer and seller at ExPa-Frucht Ltd, based in Ottobrunn. “Since the beginning of the season, we have consistently received ample supply, and the demand has been quite pleasing throughout. The latter is mainly due to the relatively mild winter. Meanwhile, prices until week 10 were significantly above last year’s level, which was due to the fact that demand was higher compared to last year with almost identical supply volumes. However, since weeks 11-12, prices have stabilized back to the previous year’s level.”
According FreshPlaza, the Greek strawberry has established itself firmly in the market over the past years through its excellent quality and consistently growing volume. “Due to irrigation issues, Spanish strawberries are increasingly coming under scrutiny. In Greece, on the other hand, the generally sufficient rainy days ensure enough water accumulates in the reservoirs. Thus, the water management meets today’s standards. This has also led many retail chains to switch from Spanish to Greek strawberries in recent years. This year, the situation was further exacerbated by the heavy rainfall and corresponding quality issues in Spain.”
The classic peak season for Greek strawberries continues to focus on the sales months of April and May. Vogelsang: “Even during the German strawberry season, many retail chains run dual operations. As a rule, we try to offer Greek strawberries to the trade until mid to late June. After that, Greek strawberries are still available, but eventually, it becomes too hot to import good quality strawberries. For the next two to three months, we continue to expect stable quantities and quality” he concludes.
