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.