Greek Parliament mulls how to support Kalamata olive exports

The issue of the Kalamata Olive PDO was at the center of the debate in the Parliament on the pertinent question of ND MP Periklis Mantas to the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Giorgos Georgantas.

“The only way to deal with the penetration of other countries into the world markets, with so-called “Kalamata olives”, is to meet the needs of the markets with the genuine product, which is grown in Messinia and in Greece”, said the minister in response to the Parliament.

Specifically, Mr. Manda’s question comes in the wake of the recent decision of the Minister of Agricultural Development and Food G. Georgantas, which re-incorporated the term “Kalamata” as a synonym of the Kalamata olive variety. In his question, the MP refers to the recommendation of the ministry’s service on which the ministerial decision was based, noting among other things that “full compliance with the conditions” set by the EU is not documented. noting that “with your decision it seems that the Kalamata Olive PDO and the economic viability of Greek production is at risk, which is now threatened with abandonment”.

The greatest protection of the PDO, but also the non-PDO product, is to promote it as much as we can and to export quantities that will meet the need on retailer shelves, said Mr. Georgantas.

For his part, Mr. Mantas referred to the pressure facing the Greek product from the competition of countries that produce so-called “Kalamata Olives”, such as Australia, Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Turkey. “With your decision, we give third countries the possibility to enter the markets”, said Mr. Mantas, underlining that two days after the ministry’s announcement (3/9/2022), Egyptian companies sent price lists to Greek standardizers to sell them “olives of Kalamata”: “We gave this possibility with these decisions”.

Mr. Georgantas pointed out that out of the 80,000 tons of Kalamata olives exported annually, the PDO product never exceeded 287 tons, that is, 0.38% of production. What we need to do, added Mr. Georgantas, is to support the national emblematic product as a whole, with its great extroversion and the benefit for both the producers and the economy. And we can do this without conflicts among us, emphasized Mr. Georgantas.