During the fourth quarter of 2006 the volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 17.3 per cent and 20.4 per cent respectively, the National Statistics Office said yesterday.

Fresh fruit and vegetable supply for the fourth quarter of 2006 increased by 17.3 per cent over the comparative period last year. The increase was mainly attributed to the increased supply in Lettuce (+20.6 per cent), dry onions (+47.4 per cent), Potatoes (+17.1 per cent) and tomatoes (+27.3 per cent).

The wholesale value increased by 20.4 per cent over the comparative period.

Whereas average prices for the quarter increased by 3.1 per cent, the wholesale value increase resulted from an increase in the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, the NSO said.

Fresh fruit and vegetable availability for 2006 rose by 12.0 per cent over 2005. Similarly, the wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 9.7 per cent over the corresponding period.



Regional statistics

In the fourth quarter of 2006, Maltese farmers supplied a total of 8.5 million kilograms of fruit and vegetables or 90.0 per cent of the total supply.

The volume and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetable supply over the comparative period rose by 19.7 per cent and 23.2 per cent respectively.

On the other hand, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables by Gozitan farmers amounted to 10.0 per cent of the total supply. During the fourth quarter of 2006, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables by Gozitan farmers declined by 1.2 per cent but the wholesale value of this produce increased by 5.8 per cent.

Indices

The vegetables price index for December stood at 88.34 points, a decrease of 8.07 points (-8.4 per cent) over the same month in 2005. Falling prices for tomatoes, vegetable marrows, and cauliflowers were behind this drop. The increased supply of the main marketed products for December resulted in the vegetable volume index increasing by 14.7 per cent, from 84.65 points to 97.12 points during the same period.

In December 2006, the fruit price index stood at 96.68 points or 8.01 points higher from December 2005. On the other hand, the fruit volume index declined by 17.03 points (-18.4 per cent), to 75.56 points in December 2006.

The drop in the supply of Oranges (-24.0 per cent) and Sweet Oranges (-20.7 per cent) on the market were the main reason behind the fall in the fruits volume index and the increase in the fruits price index.