11.7 million kilos of fruit and veg sold in second quarter
The supply of fresh fruit declined by 11.5 per cent mainly on account of decreases of 46.7, 14.9 and 3.7 per cent in the availability of lemons, peaches and strawberries.
During the second quarter this year, the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 7.4 per cent, whereas the wholesale value increased by 20.5 per cent over the comparative period in 2014.
In the second quarter, the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables sold through official markets amounted to 11.7 million kilogrammes, yielding €6.5 million. This represented a drop of 7.4 per cent in weight and a 20.5 per cent growth in wholesale value over the corresponding period in 2014.
Fresh vegetable supply went down by 7.1 per cent to 10.8 million kilogrammes over 2014. Drops of 28.3, 18.5 and 16.3 per cent were registered in the supply of sugar melons, watermelons and potatoes. In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables increased by 26.0 per cent to €5.3 million.
The supply of fresh fruit declined by 11.5 per cent mainly on account of decreases of 46.7, 14.9 and 3.7 per cent in the availability of lemons, peaches and strawberries. However, the wholesale value of fresh fruit increased marginally by 0.8 per cent to €1.2 million.
The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Maltese farmers decreased by 6.7 per cent over the corresponding quarter in 2014. Maltese farmers supplied 10.9 million kilogrammes of fresh fruit and vegetables, 93.7 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value of such produce went up by 21.6 per cent, from €4.9 million to €6.0 million.
Gozitan farmers contributed 0.7 million kilogrammes of fresh fruit and vegetables, 6.3 per cent of the total supply. In volume terms, this produce decreased by 16.9 per cent, while the wholesale value went up by 9.1 per cent over 2014.
The quarterly All Items fresh fruit price index increased by 18.31 points (16.7 per cent) year on year, to 128.27 points. In contrast, the respective volume index declined by 16.17 points (11.5 per cent) to 124.93 points.
The quarterly All Items fresh vegetables price index went up by 32.85 points (38.0 per cent) year on year, to 119.40 points. On the other hand, the respective volume index decreased by 8.06 points (7.1 per cent) to 105.19 points.
