The supply of fresh vegetables went down by 2.9% to 11,100 tonnes. In detail, declines were registered in the supply of sugar melons (-28.1%), lettuce (-20.7%), cauliflowers (-17.2%) and vegetable marrows (-6.2%) - Freshplaza.com reported. The supply of tomatoes and watermelons went up by 19.1 and 11.9% respectively. The wholesale value of fresh vegetables fell by 15.8% and amounted to 4.5 million euros.

During the second quarter, the supply of fresh fruit rose by 4.8%, mainly on account of an increase in the availability of strawberries on the market (+28.8%). By contrast, the wholesale value of fresh fruit dropped by 1.2%, 1.1 million euros.

Maltese farmers supplied 11,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables, yielding 5.1 million euros. Overall, farmers on the mainland contributed 92.4% of the total amount of fruit and vegetables on the market. On the other hand, Gozitan farmers contributed with 900 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables, or 7.6% of the total supply. Over the comparative period in 2009, the supply and wholesale value of fresh fruit and vegetables declined by 3.7 and 15.6% respectively.

Source: Independent.com.mt