Potato… my golden one

Farmers are struggling to keep fruit and vegetable prices stable despite rising costs due to rising costs and reduced production.

There are reports that Greek potatoes are on the verge of extinction in many regions of the countryas weather conditions and drought have affected production, causing its price on the shelves to rise by a total of 40% in the last four years, even reaching 1.6 euros per kilogram!

For example, in Crete, things are no better: the overall increase in potato prices has recently reached 10%. According to Pantelis Papadakis, president of popular market growers, there are already plenty of Mesarita potatoes appearing on the local market, the wholesale price of which is 0.80 cents per kilogram.

However, weather conditions and lack of rain are causing concerns among producers regarding future production and, as a result, adequate availability of products in the market. “We currently sell potatoes locally on average at a price of about 1 euro per kilogramtrying to keep the price as low as possible so that it is affordable for the consumer,” notes Mr. Papadakis.

However, the consumer sees that from store to store the prices of both potatoes and other fruits and vegetables fluctuate, which is due to the quantity available on the market, their quality and place of origin. It is telling that “about 20 days ago the market was flooded with large quantities of Egyptian potatoes,” Mr. Papadakis said.

However, in Heraklion, prices for consumer goods such as potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers range from 0.90 to 1.50 euros per kilogram. Of course, in some cases it has been observed that the price of tomatoes reaches 2 euros per kilogram, and cucumbers – 1.70 euros per kilogram. Concerning consumer behaviorthen, as manufacturers and sellers report, citizens continue to purchase absolutely necessary goods for a long time, and now stock up on them in much smaller quantities.

That is, where they used to take 10 kg of potatoes, now they get 5 kg – that’s half the amount – and where they used to take 3 kg of tomatoes, now they take a maximum of 1 kg.

In the rest of Greece, there are also serious problems with potato shortages, because although most producers have kept the same areas for their cultivation, weather conditions, lack of rainfall, as well as various diseases led to a decrease in yield. For example, in the Peloponnese, where the yield per hectare usually exceeded 3 tons, this year it fell to 1 ton. In other words, the profitability decreased to 1/3.

According to the Organization of Central Markets and Fisheries (OKAA), at the moment the wholesale price of domestic potatoes has increased by 15.4%, to 0.75 euros per kilogram, while for the same period of the three previous years (2021, 2022 and 2023) remained stable at 0.65 euros per kilogram.

However, in supermarkets and street markets the price of potatoes has increased by 39.5% compared to 2021, jumping from 0.86 cents per kilo to €1.20. Potatoes of Naxos, which have trade name (P.O.P.)*, on the shelves it costs 1.60 euros per kilogram.

* In 1992, the European Community created systems such as ΠΟΠ (ΠΓΕ and ΕΠΠΕ), to promote and protect agricultural products and food.
Protected Designation of Origin (P.O.O.): denotes a product whose production, processing and packaging must take place in a designated geographical area with recognized know-how. In addition, the products are marked as follows:

1. Protected geographical indication (PGE): here the connection with the geographical area is maintained for at least one of the stages of production, processing or processing.

2. Guaranteed specific traditional product (EPPE): independent of the place of origin of the product and is intended to indicate a distinctive traditional composition or original method of production.

Thus, since Greek production is not enough to cover even the domestic market, huge volumes of potatoes are imported from abroad. It is significant that, according to the Association of Greek Companies Exporting Fruits, Vegetables and Juices INCOFRUIT-HELLAS, in the first two months of 2024 alone, 63,467 tons of potatoes were imported to Greece, compared to 53,644 tons for the same period in 2023 (an increase of 18 .31%). Farm products mainly come from Egypt, Cyprus and France.

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