With the decline in demand for Cretan citrus fruit, partly due to competition from low-priced imports from countries such as Spain and Morocco, local farmers in the last few decades have increasingly turned to growing avocados, which fetch a much higher price per kilogram and are relatively easy to grow. Large areas of citrus groves in Chania have been torn up and replaced by avocado trees, especially in the area around Agia, with farmers initially having little regard to the most suitable types to grow and committing basic errors such as harvesting too early to catch the market – a practice which can result in the fruit not ripening properly once bought.
However, it would appear that the market has now matured and at this time of year supermarkets have ample supplies of local avocados which are at the right stage of ripeness and have an excellent consistency and flavour.
Such has been the success of Chania avocados that a move has been under way for some time to have them certified as PDO (protected denomination of origin), an EU and UK classification which recognises products of a specific area with particular characteristics and wholly local production. Reporting that the application has been with the ministry of Rural Development and Food for a year now, the Haniotika Nea recently called upon MPs, Regional government and local producer organisations to put pressure on the government to bring forward this much-desired development.
An article on the Haniotika Nea website this week highlights moves by local growers’ associations to promote the production of organic avocados, which are much in demand in both national and international markets. A reporter visited the premises at Kokkino Metochi of the vice-president of the Chania Cooperative for Organic Produce, Giorgos Kalliterakis, who is currently harvesting Hass and Lamb Hass, two popular avocado varieties commonly seen in local supermarkets at this time of year.
Having visited many exhibitions abroad, Mr Kalliterakis told the newspaper that “the interest for conventionally-grown avocados is less than that for organic ones. The major production of conventional avocados is in countries with industrialised production such as Chile, Peru and Mexico. There they use chemical fertilisers and weedkillers, which is why many consumers in Europe prefer the organic product.”
At the moment, demand for organic avocados is very much greater than for conventional ones, he said, “since they do not exist in large quantities, only in small amounts from Spain and Israel. That is why producers in Chania need to seriously consider making their crops organic.” Organic avocados also sell at a higher price, bringing the producer around €3.00 per kilo as against a maximum €2.50 per kg for non-organic.
Mr Kalliterakis is growing his new trees on embankments so as to provide better protection against frost, while weeds are removed by strimming. “Generally, avocados are fairly easy to grow organically, since they don’t have any pests. In recent years the new plantations have had issues with soil fungi, but those have been dealt with organically.
“As regards feeding, things are simpler. Avocados need potassium and phosphorus, and we can use compost which we make ourselves. A lot of very useful work on correct growing methods has been done by the Institute of the Olive Tree and Subtropical Plants” he said.
The trade in avocados
Avocados being sorted and packed ready for distribution at the Agricultural Cooperative of Chania.
The Cooperative was originally formed as the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (UAC) Kydonias-Kissamou in 2003, combining the cooperatives of Chania, Maleme, Kolymbari and Kastelli (Kissamos), and taking its current name in 2014. It still maintains substantial premises in Kolymbari, with a storage capacity of 7,100 tons of olive oil.
Should Chania avocados achieve PDO status they will stand alongside the renowned PDO Kolymbari Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and Maleme’s Washington Navel oranges which also have PDO status.
Sales manager for the Chania Agricultural Cooperative, Giorgos Kornarakis says that only 8 per cent of the avocados they currently receive are organic, but he considers that organic avocados are a product with great possibilities. The Cooperative sells its avocados in Belgium, Denmark and France, and as Mr Kornarakis explained, “We have customers in Denmark who tell us that in that country the proportion of conventional to organic fruit and vegetables consumed is fifty-fifty!
“That is to say, they consume as much organic produce as conventional. And in the last few years we have gone much more strongly into the area of organic produce – citrus fruit but mainly avocado – since we find that there is a very great demand from abroad, and now we are in discussion with the supermarket chains to supply them with organic products too.”
The profit to the producer for organic products is 40-50 cents more than for conventional, and can be more depending on the time of year, Mr Kornarakis said. Moreover, for avocado growers, going organic doesn’t entail a major increase in cost, since there are fewer pests than for other crops. The extra price is such as to absorb the cost of organic fertilisers.
“Also in comparison with other products such as oranges and lemons – which are produced in large quantities in the Peloponnese, depressing the price for the Cretan produce – the avocado exists only in Chania, and recently in Rethymnon. In this way we can get better prices for our growers.”