In the second half of 2016, the volume of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 10.9 per cent, whereas the wholesale value increased by 4.9 per cent over the comparative period in 2015, the NSO said today.

Fruit and Vegetables: July-December 2016

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables sold through official markets amounted to 17.6 million kilograms, yielding €10.3 million. This represented a drop of 10.9 per cent in weight and a 4.9 per cent growth in wholesale value over the corresponding period in 2015.

Fresh vegetable supply went down by 8.7 per cent to 17.0 million kilograms over 2015.

Decreases were registered in most of the supply of vegetables mainly, vegetable marrows (27.3 per cent), potatoes (24.9 per cent), watermelons (25.1 per cent) and lettuce (14.9 per cent). In contrast, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables increased by 9.1 per cent to €9.5 million.

The supply of fresh fruit declined by 46.8 per cent, reflecting drops in all fruit under review, with the exception of pomegranates, which increased by 1.4 per cent. This was mainly the result of a drop in the amount of rainfall during the year. The wholesale value of fresh fruit decreased by 28.8 per cent to €778,933.

Regional statistics

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables supplied by Maltese farmers registered a decrease of 8.4 per cent over the corresponding period in 2015. Maltese farmers supplied 16.2 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 92.0 per cent of the total supply. The wholesale value of such produce went up by 6.4 per cent, from €8.7 million to €9.2 million.

Gozitan farmers contributed 1.4 million kilograms of fresh fruit and vegetables or 8.0 per cent of the total supply. In volume terms, this produce decreased by 31.8 per cent, while the wholesale value went down by 6.9 per cent over 2015.