London, Thanasis Gavos

Events and actions in London to promote Greek rice in the competitive British market are taking place this week, as part of the EU co-funded ‘European Rice’ campaign to promote European rice.

The climax of the events coordinated by the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Thessaloniki (EASTH) was on Tuesday evening the presentation and dinner with rice recipes in a popular central Greek restaurant in London. Dozens of professionals from the food market of the British capital were invited, while producers from the north of Greece, members of EASTH, were also present.

Speaking to SKAI during the event, Christos Tsichitas, president of EATH, said that the purpose of the actions is “to highlight the quality of Greek rice, its nutritional value, its taste, but also its safety (for the consumer) as European food”.

The ultimate goal is to increase Greek rice exports to the British market. “Tonight’s dinner is attended by people from the UK market, shop owners, distributors. The goal is to export as much product as possible, as it is an exportable product, several thousand acres are cultivated in our country, around 300,000 acres.” London is among the targets of the EASTH due to its high consumption of rice.

Other actions include sample distribution in stores in various parts of London and in a second year collecting impressions about the taste of the product.

“Greek rice is not inferior to the others sold in London, on the contrary it has advantages. In Thessaloniki, it is produced in lands in the delta of Axios, Loudias and Aliakmons, in a protected area, so in a very good environment, natural, with controlled waters. Cultivation is done according to EU rules, i.e. with approved plant protection products without residues in the final product. So it’s both tasty and chemical-free, which is an advantage over rice from third countries where other chemicals are widely used or produced with child labor and other conditions.”

The rice in the events comes from western Thessaloniki, from areas such as Chalastra, Malgara, Chalkidona, Agios Athanasios.

The cultivation conditions and the advantages of Greek rice were developed more thoroughly in a special presentation during the evening by the general director of EATH, Konstantinos Yiannopoulos.