The upward trend of Cretan exports continues, according to the provisional data provided by the Hellenic Statistical Authority, which were then processed by the Exporters’ Association of Crete. In fact, between January and September 2020, exports amounted to €349 million and 314,819 tons compared to €311 million and 279,829 tons in the corresponding period of 2019, thus showing a 12.2% increase in value and 12.5% in volume (excluding petroleum products).
The food and beverage sector, which accounts for 51.6% of total exports from the Greek island of Crete during the period under review, shows an increase of 17.5%. The chemical and plastics sector comes second, with a share of 29.1%.
Olive oil exports still on top
With regards to the agri-food sector, olive oil, which accounts for 60.7% of exports in this particular sector and 31.3% of total Cretan exports, showed an increase of almost 20%, reaching €109.3 million compared to €91.1 million for the same period last year.
Furthermore, vegetables, which account for 19.6% of the sector’s exports, showed an increase of 13.5%, followed by fruits, with a share of 8.7% and an increase of 18.9%, fish & seafood with a share of 1.6% and a decrease of 3.3%, while dairy was up +63.6%, honey showed a -16.7% decrease, meat and meat preparations also down 45%, and wine -16.7%.
Major markets for Cretan products
Regarding the countries that import Cretan products, Germany is in first place with a 21% share, followed by Italy with 16%, France with 6.6%, the Netherlands with 6.1% and Poland in fifth place with 4.5%.
As far as the F&B sector is concerned, the main markets for Cretan exports are Germany, with exports reaching €50.4 million, Italy with €46.4 million, Austria with €9.7 million, the US with €8.8 million and, in fifth place, the United Kingdom with €7 million.
