Drop in supply of fruit and vegetables

The volume of fresh fruit and vegetables in the fourth quarter of 2007 declined by 11.1 per cent over the same period a year earlier and the wholesale value rose by 21.6 per cent, the National Statistics Office said.

A total of 8.4 million kilogrammes of fresh fruit and vegetables was supplied from October to December last year. The wholesale value went up from €3.6 million (Lm1.6 million) to €4.4 million (Lm1.9 million).

The supply of fresh vegetables alone fell by 11.3 per cent. Drops were recorded in potatoes (-40.3 per cent), lettuce (-11.5 per cent) and vegetable marrows (-34.7 per cent).

The wholesale value for fresh vegetables rose from €3.3 million (Lm1.4 million) to €4.1 million (Lm1.8 million), an increase of 24.9 per cent.

The supply of fresh fruit dropped 7.3 per cent, mainly the result of a drop in the availability of sweet oranges (-11 per cent) and grapes (-77.6 per cent).

The wholesale value of fresh fruit registered a decline of 10.4 per cent to €0.31 million (Lm0.13 million).