The Greek agricultural industry, like every other Greek industry, has had to struggle in the wake of a large financial crisis and economic instability. While a trade deficit remains, the country's growers and exporters are working to increase exports and pull their industry into self-sufficiency.
“Important milestones were reached last year,” said Lior Touron of Touron S.A. “The exports were increasing and exports were worth about 19 billion Euro. Income from tourism was also good, and we received about 26 million tourists in 2015.” This is good news for the entire economy, and it only promotes the self-sufficiency and local production that the country is working toward. While growers are still largely dependent on imports for inputs, like fuel and fertilizer, agricultural exports have increased in recent years.
“In the last years we are evidencing a big turn of young entrepreneurs towards agricultural production,” said Lior. “Greece is already an established exporter of kiwifruit, citrus, apples, grapes and stonefruit, and there are now emerging export items like avocados, persimmons, pomegranates and various vegetables.” The country benefits from its proximity to the European and Middle Eastern markets, though it's not limited to any one region, with some items making their way to the United States and China.
“I expect a good year for avocados,” added Lior. “The global demand for this product has risen in the last years and we find less availability from Europe and Israel. There are many young plantations in Crete that will start bearing fruit in the next few years.”
The export scene is promising, but Greece still imports more products than it sends out. One of the reasons Lior thinks production and exports haven't grown as fast as they should have, is heavy taxation. Though several months removed from the brunt of the financial crisis that closed banks for several weeks, the lack of monetary liquidity also remains an impediment to growth. Greece imports products from Europe, the Middle East, South Africa, New Zealand and South America, and if local growers want to compete with those imports, they need the capital with which to buy the things necessary to increase production. Though a blind increase for all commodities could drive down prices, Lior is also particular about the kind of growth needed.
“The local growers should not decrease their production, but rather pursue a more harmonized collaboration between retailers and growers,” added Lior. “By getting supply programs, the growers would be able to avoid market-related risks and thus no need to grow less.” As a company, Touron is also taking a calculated approach to growth. Lior noted that the company wants to strengthen its presence in Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. It also wants exports to account for 30 percent of annual revenue.
The last few years have brought some of the most trying times in Touron's 30-year history. But Lior believes the company, as well as the entire agricultural industry, can and must grow beyond this rough spot.
“Touron S.A. runs one of the most advanced ERP systems for the company’s operations and follows the highest standards for quality and safety according to the EU legislation and the requirements of all the supermarkets. The company is certified by ISO 22000, and its facilities are made up of 2,000 square meters of temperature controlled storage rooms, packaging lines and quality control points. That's how we maintain our level of quality,” said Lior. “Following the last difficult summer of 2015, we would like to believe that the fresh produce sector will gradually recover and that the figures of 2016 will be encouraging, coming back to the levels of 2014.”
