Less fruit and veg on the market

Potatoes, tomatoes and cauliflowers were in short supply between April and June as the wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 7.7 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The overall volume of fresh fruit and vegetables went down by 11.9 per cent in the second quarter, according to the National Statistics Office.

The supply of fresh vegetables dropped by 11.8 per cent, to 11.4 million kilograms with potatoes witnessing the biggest drop of 33.8 per cent, followed by tomatoes (-19.9 per cent) and cauliflowers (-13.6 per cent).

On the other hand, the supply of dry onions and lettuce increased by 15.2 and 19.1 per cent respectively.

The wholesale value of fresh vegetables rose by 15.6 per cent and amounted to €5.3 million in the second quarter this year, with tomatoes going up by tomatoes 54.2 per cent and vegetable marrows by 14.1 per cent.

The wholesale value of dry onions rose by 67 per cent on account of a rise in both volume and unit price.

Meanwhile, the wholesale price of potatoes and watermelons slipped by 13.4 per cent and 9.4 per cent respectively, while that of sugar melons went down by 22.6 per cent, due to lower supply and lower prices.

The supply of fresh fruit dropped by 13.7 per cent, reflecting a shorter supply of lemons (22.6 per cent) and peaches (15.4 per cent).

Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fruit also registered a decline of 18.2 per cent when compared to the same period last year, from €1.4 million to €1.1 million. The resulting drop in wholesale value was due to lower quantity and unit prices observed in the period under review.

Farmers supplied 11.3 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables, yielding €5.9 million.