Crete is the home to a wide variety of subtropical fruits not normally associated with the Mediterranean area, with the result that consumers can find most of their needs met from local produce. They include bananas, kiwi fruit, pomegranates, mangoes, lately dragon fruit, and of course avocados. The local products are generally more flavourful and often cheaper than imported varieties, though some are not available throughout the year. Among the less exotic, avocados have grown in popularity over the past two decades. Appreciated by consumers the world over for their health-giving properties, they are popular with local farmers, as they are a relatively high-value crop compared with the citrus fruit which have traditionally been grown in the area.

Avocados, like bananas, kiwis, mangoes and many more common fruits, belong to the group known as climacteric, which are characterised by a rise in ethylene production at the end of their development, and as a result can complete the ripening process after they have been picked. Avocados nevertheless need to have reached a certain level of development before being harvested, otherwise they will not ripen properly, and in the past inexperienced farmers have ignored this principle in their haste to bring their produce to the market. The situation has now improved but as a recent article in Haniotika Nea makes clear, some problems in local avocado cultivation remain. A note on oranges at the end highlights the price difference between avocados and citrus fruit.

Avocados in Chania – Cultivation without orientation

The major increase in plantings of avocado over the past 20 years in the Chania area has not been accompanied by the appropriate degree of knowledge among producers, which is the cause of the problems being experienced in the sector. This is the common experience of agronomists, cooperatives, groups of producers and packing plants which are engaged in the processes of bringing the avocado to market.

At present, the Hass variety is being harvested – which is the one mostly being sold. The packing plant of the Agricultural Cooperative of Chania at Maleme is currently a hive of activity, with large quantities of the fruit being prepared for internal distribution and export. As the Cooperative’s sales director Giorgos Kornarakis told Haniotika Nea: “We have gone all in on the Hass variety: this year’s production is very good, it’s higher than last year, when we had problems with fruit formation. There are a lot of small ones, but that is manageable. Hass has been planted everywhere over the past few years,” he said.

At the moment, analyses are being carried on the Lamb Hass variety which is showing early maturity. Tests in avocado plantations at Voukolies are registering 28 per cent dry matter [an indicator of ripeness] and at Mournies 26 percent, where the lower limit is 25 per cent. A sample of the summer variety Reed has also been sent to the Institute of Olive Tree, Subtropical Crops and Viticulture in Chania for testing.

Problems with cultivation
Mr Kornarakis pointed out that there is a lack of knowledge of the correct methods of cultivation among many producers. “Many people, seeing that avocados get a good price, abandoned traditional crops such as oranges and planted them without examining the why and wherefore. This has resulted in many problems and many producers are not doing well. We as a cooperative are trying to get the producers better informed and in the near future we are planning to hold seminars to spread knowledge to the grower,” he said. At the same time he invites all those who are intending to grow avocados “before they start, to do a proper soil analysis and a water analysis, so that they know whether the field will support avocados well, and of course which variety to put in. “

Currently, avocadoes are being sold by the producer at €2.40 per kilo for the large sizes, which is an increase of 20 cents on the beginning of last autumn. “Chania avocados are considered of excellent quality and so there is a big demand both in the internal market and abroad. We have sent quantities to Denmark, France, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Austria, and we see the interest continually increasing,” the Cooperative’s sales director said.

Oranges
As regards citrus fruit, the Maleme plant is currently packing Lane Late navel oranges and at the beginning of May it will probably start on Valencia [the best variety for producing juice]. “Producers are getting 50 cents a kilo for oranges this year, which is a fairly good price for the season. If the appropriate measures had been taken 20 to 25 years ago we would have spread out the varieties over a longer period and would now have New Hall, Lane Late, Merlin and Valencia covering almost the whole year, and there would have been better support for the product and the producer,” Mr Kornarakis said.

The oranges produced in the Chania area are mostly sold within Greece, with only small quantities going abroad.
(Haniotika Nea, 02/04/25)