Supply of fruit and veg up 9.9%

The supply of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 9.9 percent in the third quarter of this year, while the wholesale value declined by 11 percent to €4.92 million, the NSO said this morning.

The NSO said the supply of potatoes rose by 73 percent, while water melons, vegetable marrows and cabbages registered gains of 5.5, 5.7 and 11.8 percent respectively.

On the other hand, the supply of tomatoes and lettuce declined by six and 4.6 percent respectively. The wholesale value of fresh vegetables declined by 17 percent, from €4.83 million in the third quarter of 2007 to €4.01 million in the corresponding period of 2008, mainly due to a decline in the wholesale prices of the main vegetables. This resulted from the general increase in the supply of fresh vegetables in the third quarter of 2008.

The supply of peaches and grapes rose by 112.6 and 22.5 percent respectively.

During this period, the share in volume of Maltese produce at the market amounted to 83.2 percent of the total supply of fruit and vegetables. On the other hand, Gozitan farmers took 2.44 million kilograms (+6.1 per cent) of fresh fruit and vegetables to the market. The wholesale value of Gozitan produce declined by 20.1 per cent, from €0.92 million in the third quarter of 2007 to €0.74 million in the third quarter of 2008.