GREECE
The agriculture of Greece is as varied as its climate. Higher rainfall in the north, with hot, dry summers in the Mediterranean islands. Comparatively low yields in some cereals, with high production of fruit and vegetables, often in hi-tech greenhouses. Across the country, there’s the range of output that you’d expect to find for a country famous for its products and cuisine. An increasing number of biological input companies, and the use of stabilized fertilizers, point to the opportunities, against challenges such as the persisting small farm size and low levels of automation in greenhouses. Luke Hutson writes
When New AG International did its last full regional report on Greece in 2005 the market was summarised as “competitive, however not yet mature market for high-tech ag inputs.” Despite the intervening years featuring the 2008 global financial crisis, and Greece’s euro crisis of 2010, the market can now be described as being on its way to “maturing” given the number of biological input and specialist plant nutrition companies now operating in the country, and the investment in the greenhouse sector. And we have evidence of precision agriculture gaining a foothold with Teofert applying liquid fertilizer/biostmulant combination by drone for a wheat producer (see Teofert interview).
Macro summary Let’s do some of the big statistics first to provide the necessary context. The macroeconomics don’t make great reading and too much focus on them would misrepresent the activity in the sectors relevant to a New AG International audience. The GDP of Greece has declined since 2012, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, is forecast still to remain below the level for that year. In 2012, the GDP was 191 billion euros, itself a decline of 19.2 percent on 2011, falling to 176 billion by 2016. For 2020, the European Commission (EC) estimates a GDP of 169 billion euros. For 2021, post-Covid, the EC forecasts Greece’s GDP at 183 billion euros (forecast made in June 2020). This still represents a decline of 18 percent from the 223 billion euros GDP in 2011 (World Bank data).
And despite being a strong exporter of agricultural produce, the country still runs a deficit. Exports of agricultural goods delivered 6.039 bn euro in 2019 against imports of agricultural products of 6.832 bn euro. The unemployment rate among the population of 10.7 million has averaged 23 percent between 2012 and 2019. One phenomenon that has been reported and was mentioned by one of the contributors was that the euro crisis resulted in an increasing number of young people leaving the cities and returning to take up farming. The benefit of this was that this is a younger audience looking to adopt new practices and farming products. The gross value added (GVA) of agriculture, forestry and fishing is 4.2 percent of total GVA – a little higher than some northern European countries. A statistic that could be seized on is the agriculture employment as a percentage of workforce. At 11 percent, while the sector itself contributes 4.2 percent to total GVA, could be interpreted as farmers being less productive than average workers. This largely reflects a lack of scale in Greek farming – where the average farm size is smaller than other developed economies. Size of holdings The small farm size has long been a feature of Greek agriculture, although there has been some increase in the number of farms of larger size. A small size also means a high number of holdings – around 685,000 in 2016. The utilized agricultural area (UAA) per holding is 6.6 hectares (ha) against an EU27 average of 15.2 ha (in 2020).
The average farm size in the EU27 rose from 11.9 ha to 14.5 ha between 2005 and 2010. The growth here in the average was caused by large farms getting larger. Greece has seen some growth in large farms in recent decades. “Those member states where the share of larger farms increased by at least eight percentage points between 2005 and 2010 included the Baltic Member States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania), Finland, Romania and Greece.”
Greece is certainly not alone among EU member states but is at the low end of the scale with only Romania, Cyprus and Malta having a smaller average size of holding. Two-thirds of the EU's farms were less than five ha in size in 2016.The average mean size of a holding among EU member ranges between 15 and 17 ha, but only about 15 percent are larger. “These small farms can play an important role in reducing the risk of rural poverty, providing additional income and food. At the other end of the production scale, 6.9 percent of the EU's farms were of 50 ha or more in size and worked two-thirds (68.2 percent) of the EU's utilized agricultural area (UAA),” stated Eurostat when explaining its 2016 numbers.
Agricultural structure In broad terms, three-quarters of Greece’s agricultural output is crops (cereals, fruit, vegetables) and just under a quarter is animal/livestock. It is always worthwhile as a starting point to look at the top-level figure of utilized agricultural area (UAA) and this was showing a decline of 10 percent in the EU 2010 census. Information for the next 2020 census is being collected through to June 2021 and Eurostat says it will start publishing results in the second half of 2022. Total UAA was given as 3.477 million ha in the 2010 EU census, which was a decline from the 2000 census of 3.583 million ha. This decline appears to have continued with the Hellenic Statistic Authority (HSA) quoting total cultivated and fallow land as 3.221 million ha for 2018.
Production trends It is a mixed picture when viewing some of the main trends in the past two decades. In the EU census of 2010, arable land was 1,797,900 ha, a decline of 10.1 percent from 2000. In 2018, HSA figures suggest this decline has continued with arable hectares given as 1,719,560 ha. In 2018, arable land accounted for 53 percent of UAA. Of this, around 45 percent was cereals.
The largest crops by production volume are wheat and maize by some distance, followed by barley, rice and oats (see Table 2).
Greece has seen some growth in large farms in recent decades.
Source: Eurostat 2010 census, Hellenic Statistical Authority (H.S.A)
Table 2: Main crop production (metric t), area and yield
Source: Hellenic Statistical Authority
Three-quarters of Greece’s agricultural output is crops (cereals, fruit, vegetables)
When looking at the cereal figures for 2018, it is difficult to make a direct comparison with the EU census figure of 2010. The census figure showed a decline in cereal area of 9.7 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 1.127 million ha to 1.018 million ha in 2010. So, it raises the question: has this trend continued? The 2018 figures from H.S.A have cereals at 772,875 ha, which includes wheat (common, durum), barley, oats, rye, maize, rice sorghum and other. That implies quite a large drop in cereal area in an eight-year period. In the notes for the census figure of 2010, the figures for cereals excludes fallow land. The H.S.A figures have in their “crop areas and fallow land” section a figure of 355,125 ha for fallow land 1-5 years in 2018, whereas the EU census fallow land total was given as 151,010 ha in 2010. So there seems a difference here that might be short-term fallow land, i.e., in recent production, and could be added to the H.S.A figure. If we take the difference on the fallow land 204,115 ha (derived from – 355,125 minus 151,010) and then add to the H.S.A figure of 772,875 ha, you arrive at 976,990 ha, close to the 1.018 million ha of 2010. This suggests the cereal area has been pretty much static in the previous decade. When the 2020 census is released, this will be a figure to look out for. Durum wheat area is larger than common wheat area by around three times, using H.S.A data from 2018. The total national area is 429,000 hectares and production volume (given for 2018) of 1.26 million t, giving an average yield of 2.92 t/ha. The main producing regions for common wheat and durum wheat are Central Macedonia and Thessaly. Major European producers of wheat would have yields in the order of eight to nine t/ha. Pulses area growing The area for pulses grew by 30 percent between 2000 and 2010, from 12,010 ha to 15,566 ha, according to the EU census. This area would appear to have more than doubled according to H.S.A statistics, which gives total pulse area as 37,914 ha for 2018. This will be another figure to be confirmed in the 2020 census figure. However, the increase does seem to be supported by one local news outlet specializing in Greek food production. The report from 2019 states the government started a stimulus to increase pulse production, particularly in the production of beans. Indeed, if you go back to the H.S.A data for 2014 and look at the area for beans (grown alone), the area is given as 6,488 ha and broad beans at 1,174 ha; whereas the 2018 figure for beans (grown alone) is 7,715 ha and broad beans is 673 ha. However, looking at the area for lentil and chickpea – in 2014, the lentil area was given as 5,040 ha and for chickpea as 5,214 ha. In 2018, these had increased to 12,627 ha and
14,677 ha, respectively. So, this would seem to confirm the increase in pulse area is through an increase in bean, but more significantly from lentil and chickpea area. Western Macedonia and Thessaly are the largest pulse growing regions. There is some production in the region of Northern Aegean, with around 14 percent of bean production.
Vines more productive Turning to vineyards, Greece is the third largest producer among EU member states of table grapes, after Italy and Spain. The EU 2010 census showed a decline in area of 11.5 percent from 97,570 ha to 86,340 ha between 2000 and 2010. The H.S.A figure for 2018 is 89,246 ha showing a slight increase, with 50,648 for wine, 10,000 ha for table and the reminder for raisin (see Table 3). However, from a longer-term perspective, these numbers are lower than the 146,000 ha for 1990 for grapes given in the New AG International Greece regional report of 2005 and based on Ministry of Agriculture figures. The 2018 H.S.A data breaks the data down in volume terms as (in rounded numbers) 526,000 metric t for grapes for wine production; 236,000 t for table consumption; and 53,000 t for raisin production of which Corinth is the larger proportion, with 38,000 t and Soultana around 15,000 t. The 2018 data and total production (815,617 t) divided by area of 89,246 ha gives an average yield of 9.14 t/ha. However, actual production volumes in 2000, also using H.S.A data, from an area of around 132,000 ha, were given as 632,995 t, table 208,663 t
and raisin 84,715 t. Total production is 925,373 t, giving a yield per hectare of 7.02 t/ha. This increase in vine orchard production suggests an increase in consumption of inputs, and possibly an improvement in practices.
Table 3: Grape production by area
Cotton production Moving to cotton, Greece is the major cotton producer among member states of the European Union, accounting for 80 percent of the bloc’s production (USDA FAS 2014). The area has oscillated since 1990 when it was 259,000 ha and went up to 350,000 ha in 2002-03. Main producing regions are East Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia and Thessaly. Annual production has averaged approximately 816,000 t of seed cotton between 2011 and 2018, covering an area of around 274,000 ha (see table 4). After ginning, this equates to around 300,000 t of cotton lint. The USDA reports production, which it says is based on Greek industry contacts, at 1,240 (1,000 480lb bales/ 217kg) equating to 269,080 t of cotton lint. Around 85 percent of Greece’s cotton production is exported. Of the 1.2 million 480lb-bales, around one million was exported in 2016-17 – with the split being 52,000 bales to EU and 970,000 to the rest of the world (ROW). If we go back several decades, we find that Greece was actually a net importer of cotton prior to 1953. In 1948, around 45,000 ha was for cotton production, and this had expanded to 207,000 ha by 1962, with two-thirds under irrigation which tends to be higher yielding. As can be seen from table 4, the non-irrigation area has stabilized at around 10 percent of the total cultivated area. Turkey was the main destination for Greece’s cotton exports, accounting for 36 percent in the 2016-17 marketing year (MY).
Table 4: Cotton production of unginned seed cotton (t) – showing % of non-irrigated
Changes in CAP Direct payments under the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) were 72.4 percent of Greece’s agricultural expenditure (2.7 bn euros) in 2019. Cotton provides a good illustration of the Greek farmers’ relationship with the evolving CAP. Since New AG International’s regional report on Greece in 2005, there have been changes to the CAP with regards to cotton subsidy. Overall subsidy levels have dropped since the early 2000s due to changes in policy. The nature of financial assistance was based on price support, which encourages production. But as can be seen from 2011 in table 4, cotton production has become relatively stable. The system in the 1990s operated through a target price that was set annually for seed cotton. There are only two countries that produce countable quantities of cotton in the EU – Greece and Spain, which between them account for 2.5 percent of world production (reference: Vlontzos). Subsidy was given to cotton growers as a difference between support price and market price, and all estimates were based on unginned cotton production. To control excess production, a maximum guaranteed quantity (MGQ) of unginned cotton was set. For Greece, it was 782,000 t (249,000 t for Spain). If the production exceeded that quantity, penalties were applied to lower the subsidy level. Although EU cotton accounts for a small proportion of world total, accusations have been made that the EU cotton subsidy scheme was one of the most trade-distorting ones, according to Vlontzos.
The new policy from 2004 is very different and employs the concepts of coupled and decoupled subsidies. Coupled is when the subsidy is linked to the level of production, whereas decoupled is not linked to the level of production. Under the new policy, 65 percent of subsidy is decoupled and only 35 percent coupled to production. The decoupled payment, or income aid, was calculated using a historic period 2000-2002. The 35 percent of payments tailored to production was based on the cultivated area and not on the quantities being harvested, according to EU regulation R 864/2004. The eligible national base area for cotton was 370,000 ha at 594 euro/ha for the first 300,000 ha and for the remainder at 342.85 euro/ha. To improve the quality of cotton, the R864/2004 motivates both cotton growers and ginners to establish “approved inter-branch organizations.” This, according to the regulation means “a legal entity made up of farmers producing cotton and at least one ginner, aiming at, in particular, the supply of quantitatively suitable unginned cotton to the ginner” (R864/2004, Article 110d§1). Then, further changes were introduced to the CAP in 2009-10. Cotton producers continued to receive 65 percent support in the form of single decoupled payment (income aid) and the remaining 35 percent in the form of an area payment (coupled, or production aid). However, the maximum base areas were reduced to 250,000 ha for Greece, which as you can see is below the area in Table 4. The amounts for the coupled payment were lower at 234.18 euro/ha. For 2018-19, the amount the Greek cotton sector received was just over US$213 million (reference: ICAC). With a lower level of support and with production relatively stable, it is likely the cotton area has reached a plateau and will not expand. However, since this is an important export crop, it could allow potential for quality inputs. Production volumes could be enhanced, particularly with increased use of smart irrigation and inputs. It is understood that some ginners distribute fertilizers to cotton producers (see Fertilizer section), who use water-soluble fertilizers.
Greece is the major cotton producing member of the EU.
Around 14 percent of bean production is in the region of North Aegean.
Fruit tree growth Growth in fruit tree production appears to be driven in part by an increase in exports. Pome fruit (apple and pear) were around 30,000 ha, according to the H.S.A data for 2018. In 2016-17, Greece exported 89,628 t of apples, with around half that volume going to Egypt. Increasing volumes are being exported to the Middle East countries, notably Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia (reference: USDA FAS).
Table 5 shows the growth in apple exports. Data reporting methods changed for 2018 onwards, and so the table cannot be completed with data from one source. But this highlights the growth in exports, and although Greece imports apples, the growth in net trade in apples is demonstrated. The table also shows how the area harvested has declined but production has gone up, suggesting the good use and performance of inputs.
Table 5: Development of apple production and exports in Greece
Source: USDA FAS
Focus by region East Macedonia and Thrace accounts for 12 percent of agricultural area, based on H.S.A 2018 data. Around one-fifth of the country’s common wheat is produced here (70,978 t in 2018) and around 12 percent of the durum wheat. Among the industrial crops, tobacco is grown in East Macedonia and Thrace. East Macedonia accounts for around 20 percent of irrigated cotton area, and more than 80 percent of the non-irrigated cotton area, reflecting higher rainfall in the north of the country. East Macedonia accounts for 59 percent of the sunflower production; is home to 24 percent of potato production; is one of the key regions for spinach area (1,448 ha); and has the largest area for table grape production, followed by Crete. Central Macedonia has 28 percent of crops on arable land and includes the important growing region around Thessaloniki. It is the dominant rice producing region; home to 17 percent of chickpea production; has 30 percent of irrigated cotton production; and the largest area for spinach at 3,298 ha. Central Macedonia has 30 percent of pome fruit production. Western Macedonia is a wheat growing region and has 13 percent of barley area. Western Macedonia is home to around one-third of lentil production. This region also accounts for 21 percent of chickpea production. Thessaly accounts for 14 percent of cultivated land, contributing to 20 percent of the arable crop area, and 12 percent of the horticultural area, also referred to in data as “garden area.” One-third of the barley crop is found in Thessaly, and one-fifth of the maize crop. Thessaly (13,225 ha) and Western Macedonia (10,150 ha) are among the larger pulse growing regions. Combined they have around 23,000 ha out of the national area of 37,900 ha. Thessaly is the dominant region for Berley Virginia tobacco, accounting for 73 percent of production, and has 38 percent of irrigated cotton production. Thessaly has half the area of “industrial” tomatoes, the highest area of nut-bearing trees with 34 percent of the national area, more than 13,000 ha, and almond forming largest component with 7,000 ha. The region of West Greece accounts for 15 percent of the horticultural area, much of it concentrated in Ilia. It is by far the biggest watermelon producing region at 40 percent. West Greece accounts for 25 percent of industrial tomatoes and is the dominant region for strawberries with 95 percent of the area, with Ilia and Achaia being the main centres. It has the third largest area under grape vines, and the largest area for Corinth raisin production. Central Greece is the location for 16 percent of industrial tomato. It is big in dry onion production, with 1,611 ha and 66,993 t. The region of Peloponnese has 25 percent of the area under tree orchards – including 50 percent of citrus orchards, 28 percent of olive orchards and 22 percent of vine orchards, which is the largest area under vines in Greece. This region also has the largest area for vines for wine production, with about 15 percent of wine-growing vineyards in Greece. The region of Attica, home to Athens, has 12 percent of vineyards for wine production in Greece. The islands play a role in agricultural production. South Aegean has around nine percent of the watermelon area, and about six percent of field grown tomato area. Crete is a powerhouse of greenhouse production in Greece, but also has field crops, such as 11 percent of the potato crop. Tomatoes is the big crop, with 48 percent of tomato greenhouse area and 51 percent of volume produced.
Other vegetables on Crete: 54 percent of cucumber greenhouse area; 43 percent of eggplant greenhouse area and 57 percent of overall production; 70 percent of pepper greenhouse area and 79 percent of overall production by volume. Crete has the second highest area under olive orchards at 24 percent, second to Peloponnese with 28 percent. Crete is also second to Peloponnese with vine orchards. Crete’s vines for wine production, totalled 6,185 ha in 2018 (HSA) and account for 12 percent of the country’s area for growing grapes for wine. It has the second largest area for table grape production. Heraklion and Chania dominate for tree plantations, and Heraklion for vine orchards is by far the largest on the island.
Greenhouses in the vicinity of Ierapetra in Crete allow the year-round production of tomatoes and cucumber.
Biological Inputs The biologicals market has experienced growth in the last decade. When looking at the biostimulants market, figures from the consultancy DunhamTrimmer indicate an estimated growth from around $30 million in 2015 to $43 million in 2019. This is excluding biofertilizers and hormone-based products. The Greek market is “bordering on maturity,” according to DunhamTrimmer. Certainly, the growth in the market would be supported by comments by Teofert (see interview) and the usage of biostimulants in Crete. DunhamTrimmer notes that biostimulant application in the country is becoming more common in the northern fruit-growing regions. The growth in apple exports has
been discussed above, and that would be a likely market. When looking at the product split, the market seems to be evenly split between the main product types of seaweed-based products, amino acids and hydrolysed proteins, and humic acid segments. DunhamTrimmer would estimate amino acids and hydrolysates as the slightly larger segment at around 35 percent, humic and fulvic products, and seaweed products, both under one-third.
Table 6 gives a list of companies involved in biologicals (both biostimulants and biocontrol). It does not claim to be comprehensive but is merely indicative of the activity in these sectors in Greece. Many are based in Thessaloniki, near to the agricultural heartlands of the northern part of Greece.
Table 6: Selection of companies in Greece in the biological space
The humics sector is one of the longest established in Greece. Humofert Abete, which was founded in 1990 by John Demirtzoglou, has operated since 2005 as a public limited company. In recent years, Humofert has focused on biotechnology, studying the important role played by microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) in the development and health of plants (see advertorial here).
Many companies offer biostimulants along with a full range of plant nutrition products, such as Nature SA which offers biostimulants, water-soluble fertilizers, liquid NPKs and chelated fertilizers. A large supplier of machinery, irrigation and inputs is Panagrotiki, established in 1978 in Lamia, 200 km north of Athens. K&N Efthymiadis in Thessaloniki is another such supplier of various agricultural inputs. Some companies cover the range of biostimulants. Agriside in Giannitsa (see map for location) lists amino acids, seaweed extracts, along with soil improvers, and micronutrients.
Biocontrol companies Some of the biggest biocontrol companies have already established themselves in the Greek market via distributor agreements. For example, Agrimore became Biobest’s exclusive distributor in Greece in April 2015. At the time of the announcement, Koen Van Elsen, Biobest’s area manager responsible for Greece, was confident: “Bumblebee pollination and biological control are really catching on in Greece.” In November 2019, Biogard, the Italian subsidiary of CBC group, began operations in Greece with its newly established subsidiary Biogard Greece LLC, based in Athens.
Andermatt is present in the country and had its Tutavir product given emergency registration in May 2020. Madex Twin has been registered in Greece for the use in pome fruit, stone fruit, walnuts and almonds. Andermatt said Madex Twin is available at Hellafarm, its long-term partner in Greece for the distribution of baculovirus-based insecticides. Bioiberica’s biological attractant Cera Trap, specifically designed for the capture of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, has been approved for use in Greece in 2019. Eden Research’s Cedroz product was approved for use in Greece in May 2020. A major distributor of farm inputs is Farma-Chem, based in the industrial area of Sindos, Thessaloniki, which distributes biocontrol technologies since September 2019.
Adama solidified its position in the Greek market by acquiring the remaining 51 percent stake in Alfa Agricultural Supplies in May 2020. “Alfa has served as Adama’s representative in Greece for more than 30 years, and the companies have been strategic partners in the country since Adama’s acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Alfa in 1993,” said Adama in its statement. The macro-organism market is served by companies, such as Anthesis. Semiochemicals by Novagrica in Athens.
Bumblebee pollination and biological control are catching on in Greece according to Biobest.
Commodity fertilizer consumption The bulk fertilizer market has changed considerably in 40 years since Greece’s accession to the then European Economic Community in 1981. At the time, the market would have been around 2.2 million t of granular product, and fertilizer was subsidised by the government. When those government subsidies changed and fell under the CAP, the market gradually moved to around 1.5 million t. Although the market is now around 850,000 t of products, Kimon Theophanopoulos, founder, president and CEO of Teofert, says the market is about the same in terms of nutrients. Fewer tonnes are now sold but the nutrient value is higher, displacing some low analysis NPKs. The consumption profile of Greece is very much dominated by blends and compound NPKs. If you take an approximate annual consumption as 850,000 product t, around 430,000 t would be NPKs and NPs, including compounds and blends. Of the 300,000 t of NPK, about one-third are blends. The water-soluble market is estimated at 25,000 to 35,000 t per
year. Around 50 percent of the water-soluble market is for greenhouses, with the other half for trees and the horticultural market. There is only one producer, Hellagrolip, which now runs the former phosphoric fertilizer industry (PFI) plant at Nea Kavali, near Kavala (see map). ELFE acquired the PFI in 2009, becoming Hellagrolip in 2016. There is an ammonia plant at Nea Kavali, enabling the production of ammonium nitrate, calcium ammonium nitrate (which is exported). Total capacity is around 260,000 t/y for nitrates and a further 500,000 t/y for NP/NPKs. It should be stressed this is nameplate capacity and production would be lower and is estimated at about 300,000 t for NP/NPKs, split evenly between the two. The majority of Greece’s fertilizer consumption comes through imports. Table 7 shows imports of finished products (using ITC data). Greece also imports phosphate rock – around 200,000 t/y – that will be used to make phosphoric acid. Most is North African rock, but a small quantity used to come from Syria.
Table 7: Greek fertilizer imports by product tonnes for 2016-2020
Source: ITC
What follows is a discussion on table 7 since it shows how these figures can be used to estimate total nutrient consumption and compare with other published figures. Taking the figures for 2018 and converting to nutrient tonnage for each product, the total is 310,000 t of nutrients imported. This is excluding domestic production. Local estimates give a figure of around 300,000 t for annual total nutrient consumption.
The International Fertilizer Association (IFA) has published on its website a total nutrient consumption for 2018 of 269,000 t for N, P and K. There are obviously effects such as carryover and inventory level, so it is difficult to measure directly from imports. Consumption is also measured as fertilizer year – July to June in the northern hemisphere – making it difficult to take an annual import figure. There is the nutrient N from domestic produced ammonia and phosphate rock used to make phosphoric acid for fertilizer production. But a range of 270,000-310,000 nutrient t for N, P and K would seem reasonable. It is worth noting that government in the 1970s decided Greece should be a SOP market to avoid adding chloride to land that already received salt from its proximity to the sea. MOP was discouraged in some regions. After the accession to the EEC in 1981, blenders increasingly used more MOP which was cheaper. In terms of consumption by region, it can be seen from the map the largest regions with arable production are in the north of the country. The largest consuming regions of fertilizer are Macedonia (West, Central) and Thessaly. Cotton is mainly grown in Thessaly and Central Greece. In some areas, fertigation is used. Granular fertilizers are used in fertigation, with quantities of potassium nitrate being used. Cultivation depends very much on the area. Ginners are taking part in fertilizer market in exchange for cotton. This can take business from retailers.
Shipment of Alzon neo-N, which is urea with double stabilization (urease and nitrification inhibitor in the granular form), Photo: Teofert.
Irrigation area Around 1.227 million ha were irrigated in Greece, according to H.S.A in 2018. The breakdown by land use by H.S.A is given as 58 percent for crops on arable land, five percent on horticultural land, four percent for vines and grapes, and 33 percent for trees and orchards, described as compact plantations (see table 8). It is difficult to put the headline figure of 1.227 million ha into context. From the New AG International regional report on Greece in 2005, an estimated 1.430 million ha was estimated as under irrigation, and in 1990 it was 1.190 million ha. Therefore, the 2018 figure could be a slight contraction based on the 2005 estimate, or if that was an over-estimate, then a more static picture on the much earlier 1990 figure. Certainly, if one goes to the EU 2010 census, the figure given there is 1.3 million ha. The report stated: “The area actually irrigated in the 12 months prior to the survey was slightly smaller (about 1.0 million ha).” If one considers the decline in arable area between 2000-2010 at 10.1 percent and then calculate 10.1 percent of 1.430 million ha, you arrive at 140,000 ha. And then approximately 58 percent of 140,000 ha (remembering 58 percent of irrigation is for arable crops) is 81,000 ha. If this is deducted from 1.430 million ha in 2005 estimate, it would give a figure of 1.349 million t. So, the figure from EU 2010 census seems reasonable and in this case the H.S.A figure from 2018 suggests a decline in irrigation area, or a different way of defining the area. Irrigated area will be another figure to watch when the 2020 census comes out. The region with the largest total irrigated area is Central Macedonia with 24 percent of the total, or 297,543 ha. This region has the largest irrigated area for arable land (28 percent of total), horticultural land (17 percent) and trees (21 percent). The largest irrigated area of vines is Crete 29 percent with Peloponnese (18 percent) in second place. Eastern Macedonia has 15 percent of the total irrigated area; Thessaly accounts for 16 percent of total irrigated area, and Crete accounts for 12 percent of total irrigated area. In Central Greece, around 65,000 ha are irrigated, forming nine percent of the irrigated arable crop land.
Table 8: Irrigated cropping area (ha) for Greece
Chart 1: Total irrigated area by region (ha) - rounded total
Greenhouse sector The area of protected cultivation is estimated at 11,145 ha with production of 767,180 t, according to Vegetables: Open-Field and Greenhouse Production Athens, December 2015. Tomato is the most important greenhouse crop. Table 9 shows tomato to have the largest area under protected cultivation, which in this data from the Greek Ministry of Rural Development (2014) classifies protected cultivation as including tunnels and tall greenhouses. For protected cultivation, cucumber, pepper and watermelon follow in that order from the table in terms of production volumes. Combined with tomato, these four crops represent 77 percent of the protected cultivation. If we then look by region in Greece, the largest greenhouse area is on Crete, with roughly 2,580 ha according to the H.S.A. Total greenhouse area for the four main crops of tomato, cucumber, eggplant and pepper is given as 4,827 ha, and total horticulture for vegetables under greenhouse given as 5,998 ha, suggesting there are approximately 5,150 ha of tunnels to make the 11,145 ha of protected cultivation. So approximately half is greenhouse cultivation, as supported by Professor Dimitrios Savvas on protected cultivation sector (see inset). In 2018, commercial flower production in greenhouses was reported as 167.5 ha, as reported by H.S.A. The 2018 data from H.S.A. also suggests an increase in greenhouse area from the New AG International regional report on Greece in 2005. A Ministry of Agriculture for Greece figure from 2001 was quoted as 4,638 ha as greenhouse area, of which 4,285 ha was for vegetables and 353 ha for ornamentals.
Source: Vegetables: Open-Field and Greenhouse Production Athens, December 2015
Note: Protected cultivation includes both tunnels and tall greenhouses
Table 9: Vegetable production 2014 – comparison of open field and protected cultivation
Most greenhouse production follows two production cycles. Winter cultivation begins in August, running through to January, while the summer cultivation typically runs from February to September. On Crete, cultivation occurs throughout the year without heating.
Most greenhouse crops in Greece are grown in the soil. Currently, soilless culture in Greece occupies
approximately 230 ha, according toProfessor Dimitrios Savvas (see inset). However, as he explains, the phase-out of methyl bromide for soil fumigation in compliance with the Montreal Protocol increasingly forces greenhouse growers in Greece to switch to soilless culture. Large players in the sector include: Agritex Energy – 10ha glasshouse in Thessaloniki; Thermokipia Dramas – 10 ha glasshouse, Macedonia; Wonderplant – 12 ha greenhouse in Macedonia. The reference for Greek Horticultural Sector December 2012 listed a total of 5,136 ha of greenhouse, with 85 ha as glasshouse structures in its breakdown of greenhouses by type, with the largest proportion being gabled, standardized metallic, with 1,295 ha.
Looking forward If a regional report about Greece was written in another 15 years, where might we see the state of its agriculture sector? Parts of the greenhouse sector might have matured for high-tech inputs, and similar for tree fruits and orchard production. The country might have increased its export capability, particularly on established exports, such as cucumbers and apples, and expanded others. However, greenhouse area has increased, and with investment to upgrade some greenhouses, this could also provide opportunities for inputs. The cotton area seems to have plateaued, so with this crop the production gains will be from inputs and efficiencies in cultivation. The arable area will probably not grow and as mentioned in the Production Trends section, it will be interesting to see the latest figure in the EU 2020 agricultural census. The pulse area has grown and that might have an upside in the future given the popularity of this crop type with consumers. It is difficult to see how the small holding size will have changed, given that it is partly a societal factor as much as one about economic efficiency. There does seem to be some growth in farm sizes, but ultimately a future regional report will probably have Greece still in the low end of average holding size. And even if the number of larger farms does increase, they are not going to match the scale achieved in other European countries, particularly when it comes to broadacre crops. The future probably lies more in the competitive advantage of horticultural and orchard production. In grape production, it seems the long-term trend is higher yields off a lower area. This could be a sign of how agriculture develops in the country. High quality products using high quality inputs, which should bode well for the biological sector. For a country that needs plenty of irrigation, water-soluble fertilizer is another growth area. And drone technology, combining a biostimulant and water-soluble fertilizer, is already being employed by Teofert. In summary, Greece has an agricultural sector with pockets of high-tech and best-in-class efficiency with areas of lower production and investment levels. That combination means that Greek agriculture will, and to use a word borrowed from Greek, remain an enigma for some time to come. ●
Olive harvest, Crete, Greece
It is with pleasure that our contributor, Professor Dimitrios Savvas, who featured in our New AG International regional report of Greece in 2005, has kindly given an update on the greenhouse sector for Greece.
Dimitrios Savvas, Professor – Dean of the Faculty of Crop Sciences, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece
The development of the greenhouse sector in Greece has centred mainly on an expansion of the area under protected cultivation while, as a rule, greenhouses are of a simple design. Such constructions, which serve to trap and utilize solar energy, while sheltering plants from strong wind, heavy rain, insects and other pests, has the advantage of low capital investment. Unfortunately, however, the out-of-season vegetable production in these low-tech greenhouses results in relatively low yields and low percentages of Class I produce. Therefore, it is now widely accepted that technological improvements adapted to the specific climatic conditions must be incorporated into the low-tech greenhouses to make production more competitive.
According to data of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food (GMRDF), only 0.3 percent of the total cultivated area in Greece is used for protected cultivation (including low tunnels) and only 0.14 percent for vegetable production in tall greenhouses. However, the relative contribution of the greenhouse sector to the total gross value of plant production in Greece amounts to about 6.5 percent. According to statistical data provided for 2014 by the GMRDF, the total area of protected vegetable cultivation in 2014 amounted to 11,145 ha, while the total production obtained from this area amounted to 767,180 t (see table 9). These figures include area and production of both tall greenhouses and low tunnels. About half of this area is covered by tall greenhouses while the rest corresponds to low tunnels for early vegetable production (mainly watermelon, melon and strawberry).
The most important vegetable crop species grown in greenhouses in Greece are tomato and cucumber, followed by strawberries and pepper in terms of both, total area, and total production. Most greenhouse vegetable production is consumed within the country; only cucumber and watermelon are exported to a large extent, particularly in central and north Europe. Crete is the leading region of Greece in protected cultivation, in terms of both cultivated area and total production, followed by Western Greece, Peloponnese and Central Macedonia. About 45 percent of the domestic greenhouse area is located on the island of Crete with Ierapetra being the largest area, followed by Messara plain. Western Greece, with the regional units of Ilia and Achaia as main centres of greenhouse strawberry production, holds another quarter of the Greek greenhouse area. An additional 10 percent of greenhouse area is located in Central Macedonia and especially around the plain area of Giannitsa (see map), which supplies mainly the large consumption centre of Thessaloniki. Peloponnese, which accounts for another eight percent, is also considered an important greenhouse production centre with the province of Trifilia in Messenia being the leading location. Finally, another four percent of the Greek greenhouse area is in Epirus, with the main greenhouse centre being the regional unit of Preveza. The remaining greenhouse area is scattered all over the country. Today, most greenhouses used for vegetable production in Greece are standardized constructions. According to data from the GMRDF, about 82 percent of the Greek greenhouses follow national and EU specifications and only 18 percent are old-type simple constructions. Currently, most greenhouses in Greece are covered by various types of plastic films, with EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate) being the most widely used type. Nearly 98 percent of the total greenhouse area in Greece is plastic-covered and only two percent is covered by glass. Regarding the structures, about 70 percent of the greenhouses used for vegetable production consist of metallic structures. An appreciable proportion of the greenhouses used for vegetable production is high tunnels. The fuel cost for greenhouse heating is relatively high in Greece. Therefore, most vegetable greenhouses are not heated in Greece. To date, most Greek greenhouses rely on the exploitation of warm and sunny weather conditions, which enable out of season production of vegetables with minimal or – more frequently – without any fuel consumption. However, heating in the winter is necessary to attain proper temperature levels, which are a prerequisite for high yield and good quality products. As a result, low yields and poor quality suppress the grower income per metre squared. Less than 30 percent of greenhouse area is heated in Greece. The level of automation in the greenhouses used for vegetable production in Greece is
unsatisfactory. In an appreciable part of them, even ventilation is still manually performed. When better greenhouse constructions are used, these are mostly accompanied by a partial automation for temperature regulation and fertigation application (based on pre-set irrigation scheduling). Computer controlled, integrated automation systems based additionally on sensor-based measurements of solar radiation and relative humidity, which include also shading and fog systems, are only exceptionally used in greenhouse vegetable production, despite the serious problems arising from the very high temperatures prevailing in the summer. Most greenhouse crops in Greece are grown in the soil. Currently, soilless culture in Greece occupies approximately 230 ha, which corresponds to nearly four percent of the total greenhouse area. However, the phase-out of methyl bromide for soil fumigation in compliance with the Montreal Protocol increasingly forces greenhouse growers in Greece to switch to soilless culture. Thus, soilless culture is becoming increasingly important in protected cultivation not only in modern, fully equipped glasshouses, but also in simple greenhouse constructions. Mineral wool is currently the most widely used substrate in vegetable production in Greece. Besides mineral wool, coir dust and two locally produced porous materials, particularly perlite and pumice, are used for soilless cultivation of vegetables in Greece. All these substrates are virtually free of pathogens and can easily be disinfested between growth cycles to provide a disease-free start of the new crop. In the last 10 years, some high-tech hydroponic glasshouses were constructed in Northern Greece, particular in Macedonia and Thrace, e.g. Agritex, and Wonderplant, in Thermokipia Thrakis. The mean size of each of these greenhouse units amounts to about 15-20 ha. In most of these greenhouses, installations for co-production of electricity through consumption of natural gas are used, which enable heating through the hot water produced in this process, thereby minimizing the energy cost. The growing media used in these greenhouses is mineral wool. ●
Evangelos Gavriel, General Manager
GAVRIEL is a leading company in the Greek market, specializing in the marketing of 100 percent water-soluble NPK crystalline fertilizers, raw materials as well as chelated microelements.
Additionally, Gavriel promotes a full-range product portfolio of granular fertilizers, such as NUTRIMORE enhanced with Agrotain urease inhibitor, as well as common and specialized fertilizers. Established in 1969, Gavriel has been doing business in the agricultural sector for more than 50 years and has more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and trading of fertilizers. Owning three ultramodern factories (in Argos - Southern Greece, in Volos - Central Greece, and a third one in Kavala - Northern Greece) equipped with fully automated machines, the company has focused on the trading of high-quality products. Today, Gavriel is one of the largest producers of NPK water-soluble fertilizers in Greece as well as in the East Mediterranean. The company has 75,000-80,000 t/yr regarding granular fertilizers and 4,000 t/yr water-soluble fertilizers.
Except for sales in Greece, Gavriel maintains high exporting activity in many countries such as Cyprus, the Balkans, Egypt, etc. Key factors for the excellence of Gabriel’s water soluble NPK crystalline fertilizers: their guaranteed analysis and their fine raw materials fulfil the highest specifications; their high level of purity and solubility, make them dissolve quickly and fully; we provide an enormous variety of different formulas and can produce any ΄tailor made΄ formula that can meet the specific nutritional demands of any crop and growth stage; no clogging of irrigation systems due to high solubility and clarity; effective fertilization as Gavriel’s NPK water-soluble fertilizers are enhanced with a high quantity of IDHA chelated microelements - the only readily biodegradable in the Greek market. Our company developed due to our persistence for the production of best quality products, enhanced with new technologies, in many cases. It was clear for us that we should focus on high efficiency products which increase the productivity of cultivations, decrease the expenses of the farmers and are environmentally friendly, ensuring the viability of agriculture.
The Greek agricultural market for fertilizers decreased rapidly over the last years. This is partly due to the financial crisis, and the increased use of stabilized bulk blended fertilizers such as NUTRIMORE. In the last two years, this decrease has stopped, and the fertilizer market has recovered a little. We hope the next years will see fertilizer consumption increasing in Greece. As a result, the total consumption of fertilizers is estimated around 850,000 t per year, 815,000 t of which concern granular fertilizers (compound and blended) while the rest 35,000 t concern to crystallized water-soluble fertilizers (raw materials and NPKs). It is clear that during the last years, stabilized fertilizers have increased their share in the Greek fertilizer market. The same happens regarding NPKs water-soluble fertilizers which the last years overcome the one-third of the totally used water-soluble fertilizers (around 10,500 t of WSF market is NPK). Based on our moto “cultivate your future”, we are continuously providing to our customers, not only in Greece but also abroad, innovative fertilizers of high quality and agronomic efficiency which increase the productivity of the cultivations and decrease the production costs for the farmers making viable not only the future for the farmers but also for everyone else who is involved in the agronomic productivity chain. ●
Gavriel’s factory in Volos, Central Greece.
COMPO EXPERT Hellas, a subsidiary of COMPO EXPERT GmbH, has been active in the Greek fertilizer Market since 1997. In the last decade, the company also offers its services in the Balkan countries and in the Middle East.
Throughout its course in the field of plant nutrition, COMPO EXPERT has introduced a large number of innovative products and technologies, renowned for their German-standards quality and effectiveness in the field. A wide portfolio comprised of granular, water-soluble, liquid fertilizers and biostimulants is COMPO EXPERT’s contribution to the ever-demanding agricultural sector. COMPO EXPERT Hellas is amongst the major companies in fertilizer trade in Greece, with its main sales volumes coming from granular fertilizers. This fertilizer segment is the prevailing one in the country, due to the local agronomic profile. Despite this specific demand tendency, COMPO EXPERT has grown strong in the other fertilizers segments as well, with its biostimulants and liquid fertilizers growing every year in reputation, market share and range. Brands like Basfoliar and Vitanica are known for their specialized effects, providing solutions to farmers. The fertilizer brands of NovaTec, Nexur and Basaplant are strong brand names, true to the company’s sustainability vision. The company’s entire product range is created with respect for the environment. This has been a company goal since the early days of the group, kicking off its innovative course in 1972, with the introduction of the slow release nitrogen fertilizer line, Floranid. Additionally, COMPO EXPERT Hellas has reinforced its position in the Greek market with its own production plant in Patras, investing in its in-house logistics. The challenges in the sector vary in nature but also bring upon change and open up the market to new possibilities. The COVID19 crisis disrupted logistics and raised costs, making flexibility and resources top priority issues. The agronomic sector of Greece remained, in a great degree, unaffected by the crisis, as food supply will always be a top priority in times of uncertainty. Apart from pandemic-related challenges that we are still facing globally, agriculture in Greece is bound to adjust to a number of changes brought about by the European Green Deal. With emphasis put on sustainability, circular economy and organic agriculture in the EU, Greece finds itself on the threshold of change. Given the right initiatives and the correct application of policies, education and strategic planning, Greek agriculture can grow towards a new, more defined, future. Modernization of equipment, use of technologies and investment in branding of Greek products of added value, are just some of the challenges the sector in Greece has to take on in order to evolve. COMPO EXPERT Hellas, with its commitment towards research and innovation, is always ready to offer its expertise and solutions to aid in this vision. ●
Constantinos Oreopoulos, General Manager Greece, Balkans & Middle East COMPO EXPERT Hella
Compo Expert was acquired by Polish fertilizer producer Grupa Azoty in 2017
New AG’s Editor-in-Chief sat down via Zoom with Kimon Theophanopoulos, founder, president and CEO of Teofert, a supplier of specialty fertilizer for the Greek market headquartered in Chalandri, north Athens, and Charitini Kontopoulou, head of research and marketing at Teofert. During the conversation, it was revealed that Teofert is using its own drone to apply liquid fertilizer combined with biostimulants on wheat fields – which they believe is the first fertilizer application by drone in the country.
“The number will surprise you,” said Kimon Theophanopoulos, founder, president and CEO of Teofert, a supplier of specialty fertilizer for the Greek market headquartered in Chalandri, north Athens.
The number Theophanopoulos referred to in our conversation relates to the amount of urea applied in Greece that has been treated with an inhibitor. It is approximately 28 percent, so nearly one-third of the 80,000 t for direct use, a statistic that Theophanopoulos had predicted one decade ago in a local interview. Theophanopoulos is citing figures from SPEL, the Hellenic Fertilizer Association, of which Teofert is one of the 21 companies that contribute to the data. Inhibitors are also used on urea/AS blends, NPs and NPKs. Teofert imports fertilizer and manufactures products at its own blending facility in Fthiotida, Central Greece, which the company acquired in 2013. The facility is located four kilometres from the port of Stylida. The company is active in the water-solubles market in Greece, as exclusive distributor of SQM with the brand of Ultrasol, and is also the exclusive supplier of Verdesian Life Sciences products for nutrient use efficiency management. A specific milestone for Teofert΄s development has been the long- term relationship of trust with SKW Piesteritz since the early 1990s. This was also the beginning of Teofert entering the intelligent fertilizers. The company also has collaborations with the Spanish biotechnology company Kimitec, ILSA specialized in organic fertilizer and FRAYSSINET, manufacturer of solid and liquid organic fertilizers. Theophanopoulos has always wanted to do something that improves farmer practices. His father was the agent in Greece for a number of major international producers of fertilizers and raw materials (sulphur, ammonia, phosphates). Theophanopoulos himself started in the sulphur trade. He saw farmers buying 20-10-0, 16-20-0, the main offering of the Greek fertilizer producers at the time, which always seemed to him less than ideal as they were in his view fairly primitive fertilizers. He could see the agronomic benefit of using DAP instead, and Teofert was the first company to establish it as a product in Greece, rather than simply as a raw material. “If you sell a blend, you have the flexibility to develop special formulas for different conditions and combine innovative technologies for fertilizers. This is also the aim of Teofert: to adapt specialized, exclusive technologies in Greek conditions and establish intelligent fertilizers in the market.” Teofert now has a through-put of around 65,000 t/y of blended granular products. The consumption profile of Greece is very much dominated by blends and compound NPKs. If you take an approximate annual consumption as 850,000 product t, around 430,000 t would be NPKs and NPs, including compounds and blends. Theophanopoulos can see some risk to the market from the new EU Fertilising Products regulation (2019). Scheduled to come into effect in June 2022, Theophanopoulos says the new regulation requires each blended fertilizer to be registered. Many blends are produced in low volumes, less than 100 t, and so it will take considerable time, as well as money, to register each product. Theophanopoulos stresses that the time involved will be considerable, and the process for EU registration for blends has yet to be finalized. The European Blending Association is making efforts to modify this requirement of the regulation, says Theophanopoulos.
Less of a threat but more a source of pricing instability comes from importers selling directly to farmers. “We don’t sell directly to farmers, which would be competing with retailers,” says Theophanopoulos. Some importers do sell directly to farmers, according to Theophanopoulos, but they tend not to be selling specialty fertilizer, rather straight commodity fertilizer. In this instance, importers argue they are competing only on price with other suppliers. For Theophanopoulos, the relationship with retailers is vital. Particularly in trying to establish new products, such as inhibitors, and particularly with biostimulants. The retailer needs to feel he has the protection of the supplier in the early days to establish a product in a region.
“We’ve seen a large increase in the number of biostimulant companies,” notes Charitini Kontopoulou, head of research and marketing at Teofert. Kontopoulou describes the biostimulant market in Crete as being particularly developed. “There, they don’t ask what mycorrhiza is, but rather what strain of mycorrhiza is in a product,” she explains. Amino acid products tend to dominate. There’s an anecdotal measure that if a product works in Ierapetra (Crete), it will be accepted elsewhere.
Kontopoulou describes how Teofert do their own testing. They have their own fields and test products for themselves. “Our strength is that we can offer all the hi-tech products. A customer doesn’t have to go to one agronomist for this, and another agronomist for that,” sayss Theophanopoulos. And that also extends to drones. Teofert has been using a drone that can carry a 20 kg load to spray open fields, in collaboration with a customer who is responsible for the contract farming of the Barilla-Misco industry. They developed a special stabilized liquid N fertilizer with the addition of a biostimulant that can increase the desirable quality characteristics of wheat. The drone means that it is easier to work the field. Teofert believes it is the first to deliver fertilizer by drone in Greece. Pesticides have already been done.
For Theophanopoulos the logic is simple. “Being a farmer will be more and more difficult. Once, they were the pride of every country, but today their image is drastically deteriorating; they are seen as polluters. But what is the pollution? It’s what the plant doesn’t take up. Intelligent fertilizers and nutrient use management – that is the future … we need to go in this direction and give him back the glory he deserves.” ●
Kimon Theophanopoulos, founder, president and CEO of Teofert
Teofert blending facility in Fthiotida, Central Greece, which the company acquired in 2013
A defining feature of Greece is the number of islands, although nobody can say for sure how many there are, since so much depends on how you define an island. That number can run into thousands, the number of inhabited islands into the hundreds. And, of course, depending on how you measure the number of islands changes the kilometres of coastline.
What you can say with a little more certainty is that Greece is bordered to the north by Albania (212 km), Bulgaria (472 km), North Macedonia (234 km) and Turkey (192 km), with lengths provided by CIA World Factbook.
The region of Macedonia (within Greece, not to be confused with the country North Macedonia) lies to the west of Thrace. There are three administrative regions – East Macedonia and Thrace, Central Macedonia and West Macedonia (see map inset).
The northern part of Greece includes portions of the Pindus Mountains and southern Balkan Mountains, as well as two fertile agricultural plains – Thessaloniki and Serrai. Thessaly, which lies south of Macedonia, is a large plain surrounded by mountains, including Mount Olympus (2,917 m), the highest peak in Greece. The region of Peloponnese is a peninsula with small valleys and rugged mountains and coastlines. The Ionian Islands lie in the Ionian Sea, west of the Greek mainland. The Aegean Islands lie in the Aegean Sea between the Greek mainland and Turkey. Crete, to the south in the Mediterranean Sea, is the largest Greek island and has its own sea to the north, the Sea of Crete. Greece has a Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and rainy winters. The mountain areas are much cooler, with more rain in the summer months and snow in the winter. Rainfall varies greatly from region to region. In general, you can say rainfall decreases from west to east and from north to south. But there is variation within that.
In the west, near the Pindus Mountains (see map), Ioannina in the region of Epirus has highs in the summer months above 28 C with annual rainfall at approximately 1,800 mm. Moving eastwards, Thessaloniki (Saloniki weather station) will have average highs of 28 C during June-August with 300 hours of sunshine during those peak summer months, and an annual average rainfall of around 460 mm. East of Thessaloniki to Kavala sees around 485 mm of annual rainfall. Moving further south to Peloponnese, and Patras – the third largest city in Greece after Athens and Thessaloniki – temperatures average 30 C in the summer months, and rainfall averages 680 mm.
And moving to the islands in the Aegean Sea, Naxos, which is shown on the map, has an annual rainfall of around 280 mm. But in contrast, Crete can experience much higher rainfall. In 2020, Crete saw high temperatures and high rainfall, more than 2,000 mm of rainfall. That’s not a typo, more than 2,000 mm. ●
Mount Olympus (2,917m) the highest peak in Greece
Greece Statistical Factsheet - EU Factsheet June 2020
Eurostat – 2010 agricultural census
Hellenic Statistical Authority – main data set 2018
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service - Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual October 2020/ Greece Cotton and Products Annual 2014 and 2018 / USDA FAS Fruit 2014 (ranking for table grape production)
Greece – Market Special Developments in the Greek Horticultural Sector: Greenhouses and Agro logistics. Kantor Management Consultants – Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Developments in the Greek Horticultural Sector, December 2012.
Recharging Greek Youth to Revitalize the Agriculture and Food Sector of the Greek Economy, Final Report, Sectoral study 5 Vegetables: Open-Field and Greenhouse Production Athens, December 2015
ICAC – International Cotton Advisory Committee – Production and Trade Subsidies affecting the cotton industry, December 2020
Redistribution and CAP efficiency in the Greek Cotton Industry - Indian Journal of Agricultural Economics Oct-Dec 1997
The impact of the new international cotton policy on the Greek cotton production sector George Vlontzos* University of Thessaly - School of Agricultural sciences - Department of crop production and rural environment, NEW MEDIT N. 2/2007
The significance of cotton growing in Greece, Paul P. Vouras (1963) The Professional Geographer, 15:3, 11-13, DOI: 10.1111/j.0033-0124.1963.011_g.x
World Bank data GDP CIA World Factbook
