They have the privilege of standing out, not just because of their color blue / white and not red, but also because they are particularly resistant to rain and adverse weather conditions. In fact, their resilience makes them more useful to producers than ever before, as they are constantly looking for varieties that can adapt to extreme weather changes due to the effects of climate change. This is the rare variety of cherries blue / white, which have a sweet and delicate taste, and are cultivated for a number of decades at an altitude of 1000 meters, by 130 families in Archangelos of the municipality of Almopia (PE Pella).
“It’s one more thing gift of the Greek land and we are determined not to let it disappear “, underlines, speaking to APE-MPE, the president of the community Archangelos Dionysis Drenos, announcing that the actions have already started in order for this specific variety to become a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
The blue / white cherries have been cultivated in Archangelos of the municipality of Almopia since the 1950s and because of their sugars, which “like them will not be found in any other variety in the world”, as Mr. Drenos emphasizes, they are mainly available in industry for use in confectionery.
“The special and high sugars contained in blue cherries, in contrast to the rest, give the confectionery a special taste”, notes the president of the community of Archangelos and adds that despite the low producer price, which often harms them, everyone ” we cultivate them, both for emotional reasons, but also for practical ones, with the main goal of not disappearing as a variety from our country “. Besides, as he explains, with the effects of climate change being now clearly visible “we see that the Greek varieties respond better to the Greek land than the foreign ones”.
Today, the production of blue / white cherry in Archangelos, amounts to 1500 tons, when “once it even exceeded 3,000 tons”, remembers Mr. Drenos and adds that they are harvested from mid-June to mid-July, depending with the altitude that one cultivates them. According to him, the producer price does not exceed 45-50 cents / kg, when the production cost exceeds 35 cents / kg, with 25 cents / kg of them, in fact, relating only to labor costs. In this context, in parallel with the request that has already been submitted in order for the blue / white cherry of Archangelos to become PDO, the producers have requested state aid per kilo, or even setting a minimum purchase price by the grower, so that “we can achieve its uninterrupted cultivation “, as Mr. Drenos characteristically states.
Archangelos is the first village of Pella in terms of production of first quality cherries, table and industrial. A total of about 120,000 trees are cultivated in the area in an area of ​​8000 acres. Every year 7000-12,000 tons of crunchy and blue cherries are produced, as well as varieties of large-fruited cherries. More than 80% of the total production of cherries in Archangelos of the municipality of Almopia is directed for export.
In international trade, as Mr. Drenos says, our village is already known, “since 30% to 40% of the pan-Hellenic production concerns cherries coming from the municipality of Almopia”. In Greece, cherries are produced mainly in the northern part of the country – and especially in Edessa, Pieria and Grevena – but also in other parts of the country, such as Chios.
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