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.
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Increasing interest in organic avocados
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.
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