Greek peach producers are currently experiencing one of the worst seasons in memory following the effects of the weather and the Russian ban on EU fruit and vegetables.
In July, growers suffered the effects of severe hailstorms, which succeeded in destroying most of the crop. Now, to make matters worse, their number one market has vanished.
'For us the season is basically over,' said Thanos Economou of co-operative ACN Naoussa. 'It has been the worst season we have ever experienced. Last year was bad due to more hailstorms, but this season has been much worse.'
According to Economou, farmers unions are looking into the possibility of getting some financial compensation from the EU or the Greek government.
'We've had assurances, but nothing concrete yet,' he reported. 'If the Russian ban lasts a whole year, it will also affect next year's peach season, which will be disastrous for us. Russia is our main market, receiving around 90 per cent of our crop. We have a market in Saudi Arabia, but compared with Russia it is nothing. No market will make up for its loss.'
Greek exporter Protofanousi Fruits revealed that it shouldn't be too impacted by the Russian ban until the strawberry season at the start of 2015.
'Only around 10 per cent of our kiwifruit goes to Russia, as the prices are usually too high,' says George Kallitsis. 'But 70 per cent of our strawberries go to Russia, so the ban could be very bad.'
He also suggested that some Greek exporters might attempt to continue sending to Russia via a country like Serbia. 'It might be possible through a trusted importer who can then re-export the product as a Serbian-grown item,' he says, 'but even this wouldn't make up for the expected loss in sales.'
