Ninety-five per cent of consumers are satisfied with the quality of locally-grown agricultural produce, according to studies commissioned by the Rural Development Department.

The study, carried out by MISCO on a sample base of 300, established that 95 per cent of customers were satisfied with Maltese produce and 93 per cent believe that it is of good quality.

74 per cent of respondents said they felt that they were getting good value for money and 71 per cent said they felt that the products were being presented well to the consumer.

A further 77 per cent of respondents said they felt that there was enough variety on the market. In fact, 72.3 per cent of respondents said they actively took note of whether the fruit or vegetables they buy are locally grown or not.

Moreover, respondents said that they prefer local produce because they perceive it to be fresher, of better quality when compared to imported produce and that they are helping the local economy in doing so.

The survey also touched on wines and over the past 12 months, there was a 9.3 per cent increase of Maltese people who bought local wines. The survey also established that 82 per cent of respondents knew that the EU was giving Maltese farmers funds.

However, 44.3 per cent said that knowing that farmers were getting specific funding raised their expectations of both quality and presentation.

The majority of respondents said they felt that local agricultural produce had changed over the past two years.

Of these, 98.9 per cent believed that the quality had improved, while only 1.1 per cent believed the quality of products was inferior. In addition, 72 per cent of respondents said that they knew Maltese farmers were following European regulations and guidelines on the use of pesticides and the treatment of livestock. 41 per cent believe that farmers are observing the above while 24.3 per cent said they did not.

64.3 per cent said that European regulations on agriculture were advantageous for Malta, 19.3 per cent said they were not, while the remaining 16.3 per cent said they did not know.

Speaking about the findings, parliamentary secretary Frans Agius said that the findings were a vote of confidence for Maltese farmers and processors showing that they had successfully upgraded local produce. He said: “It is huge satisfaction to know that the majority of Maltese people buy local and they buy local because they believe that it is a superior product. One also notes that people have seen local produce improve.”