Volume, wholesale values increase
Fresh fruit and vegetable supply for the last three months of 2006 rose by 17.3% over the comparative period last year. There was an increased supply of lettuce (+20.6%), dry onions (+47.4%), potatoes (+17.1%) and tomatoes (+27.3%). The wholesale value...
Fresh fruit and vegetable supply for the last three months of 2006 rose by 17.3% over the comparative period last year. There was an increased supply of lettuce (+20.6%), dry onions (+47.4%), potatoes (+17.1%) and tomatoes (+27.3%).
The wholesale value increased by 20.4% over the comparative period. Whereas average prices for the quarter increased by 3.1%, the wholesale value increase resulted from an increase in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Fresh fruit and vegetable availability for 2006 rose by 12.0% over 2005. Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 9.7% over the corresponding period.
Regional statistics
In the fourth quarter of 2006, Maltese farmers supplied a total of 8.5 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables, or 90% of the total supply. The volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetable supply over the comparative period rose by 19.7% and 23.2%, respectively.
On the other hand, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables by Gozitan farmers amounted to 10% of the total supply. During the fourth quarter of 2006, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables by Gozitan farmers declined by 1.2%, but the wholesale value of this produce increased by 5.8%.
Indices
The vegetables price index for December stood at 88.34 points, a decrease of 8.07 points (-8.4%) over the same month in 2005. Falling prices for tomatoes, vegetable marrows and cauliflowers were behind this drop.
The increased supply of the main marketed products for December resulted in the vegetable volume index increasing by 14.7%, from 84.65 points to 97.12 points during the same period.
Last December, the fruit price index stood at 96.68 points or 8.01 points higher from December 2005. On the other hand, the fruit volume index declined by 17.03 points (-18.4%), to 75.56 points in December 2006.
The drop in the supply of oranges (-24.0%) and sweet oranges (-20.7%) on the market were the main reason behind the fall in the fruits volume index and the increase in the fruits price index.