MaltaMedia.com

In the first quarter of 2012 the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 16.0 per cent, whereas the wholesale value increased by 9.3 per cent, when compared to the corresponding quarter last year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said.

Fresh fruit and vegetables supplied in the first quarter dropped to 8.4 million kilograms, from 10.0 million kilograms in the corresponding quarter last year. On the other hand, the wholesale value rose by 9.3 per cent, from €5.2 million in the first quarter of 2011 to €5.7 million this year. The volume of fresh vegetables fell by 15.3 per cent to 8.0 million kilograms over the comparative period.

Declines were registered in the supply of Cauliflowers (-27.8 per cent), Vegetable Marrows (-22.0 per cent), Potatoes (-13.9 per cent), Dry onions (-33.5 per cent) and Lettuce (-30.0 per cent). In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables advanced by 13.4 per cent to €5.1 million.

During the period under review, the supply of fresh fruit declined by 28.0 per cent, mainly due to a drop in the supply of Oranges (-34.2 per cent), Sweet oranges (-29.3 per cent) and Strawberries (-28.0 per cent). Furthermore, the wholesale value of fresh fruit decreased by 16.0 per cent, to €0.6 million.

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Maltese farmers decreased by 14.6 per cent over the corresponding period in 2011. Maltese farmers supplied 7.8 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables, or 92.2 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 12.1 per cent, from €4.6 million to €5.1 million.

Gozitan farmers contributed 0.7 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables, or 7.8 per cent of the total supply.

NSO said the volume and wholesale of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 29.2 and 10.6 per cent respectively over the comparative quarter last year.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh fruit price index declined by 47.65 points (-32.3 per cent), from 147.72b points in the first quarter of 2011 to 100.07 in the first quarter this year. Similarly, the fresh fruit volume index decreased by 22.51 points, or 28.0 per cent, to 58.01 points.

The quarterly ‘All Items’ fresh vegetables price index increased by 42.02 points (+33.9 per cent), from 123.78 points in the first quarter of 2011 to 165.80 points this year. In contrast, the fresh vegetables volume index declined by 14.34 points (-15.3 per cent) to 79.58 points.