When compared to the third quarter of 2006, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 15.9 per cent while the wholesale value rose by three per cent, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.
Last year’s particularly mild and dry winter wreaked havoc with the production of fruit and vegetables, but especially of fruit, as can be seen from the latest figures released by the National Statistics Office. And the short supply caused a prices spiral.
According to the NSO, the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables during the third quarter of 2007 amounted to 13.22 million kilograms, down by 15.9 per cent when compared to the same period last year.
On the other hand, the wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables rose by 3.0 per cent, from Lm2.31 million in the third quarter of 2006 to Lm2.37 million in the third quarter this year.
During the third quarter of 2007, the supply of fresh vegetables fell by 10.9 per cent over the third quarter of 2006. Underpinning this result were declines in the supply of sugar melons (-16.0 per cent), water melons (-6.7 per cent), potatoes (-46.1 per cent) and tomatoes (-5.9 per cent). On the other hand, the wholesale value of fresh vegetables supplied increased by 15.7 per cent, from Lm1.79 million in the third quarter of 2006 to Lm2.07 million in the third quarter of 2007.
The supply and wholesale value of fresh fruit declined heavily by 54.9 per cent and 41.4 per cent respectively over the comparative period last year. The decline in the supply of fresh fruit was mainly the result of a decline in the production of grapes (-54.7 per cent), nectarines (-66.8 per cent), and peaches (-66.5 per cent). Notwithstanding an increase in the average prices, the decline in the wholesale value was mainly the result of a decline in the supply of fresh fruit.
Regional Statistics
A total of 10.92 million kilograms (-15.1 per cent) of fruit and vegetables yielding Lm1.98 million (+3.6 per cent) were supplied by Maltese farmers. This represents 82.6 per cent of the total supply of fruit and vegetables during the third quarter of 2007.
On the other hand, Gozitan farmers supplied 2.29 million kilograms (-19.5 per cent) of fresh fruit and vegetables over the same period last year. The wholesale value of Gozitan produce declined marginally by 0.2 per cent to stand at Lm0.40 million.
Indices
In the third quarter of 2007, the Quarterly “All Items” fresh fruit price index rose by 25.63 points (+31.0 per cent), to stand at 108.32 points. In contrast, the quarterly volume index in the third quarter of 2007 fell by 143.20 points (-54.9 per cent), from 260.83 points in the third quarter of 2006, on account of a heavy decline in the production of fresh fruit.
The Quarterly “All Items” fresh vegetables price index for the third quarter stood at 120.00 points, up by 27.87 points (+30.3 per cent) over the corresponding period in 2006. The Quarterly “All Items” vegetables volume index declined by 15.09 points (-10.9 per cent) from 137.89 points in the third quarter last year to 122.80 points in the third quarter of 2007.