With the climate crisis becoming more and more evident in the traditional cultures of our country, many are having difficulty responding and adapting to these new conditions.

However, a tree crop that thrives in our country since its time Of Alexander the Great, not only does she not seem to be “bothered” by these weather conditions, but she seems to “suit” her perfectly.

The reason for the sea buckthorn, a woody crop that has been made known worldwide by Alexander the Great who fed this to his horse, Bucephalas, as well as those of his cavalry, during the multi-year campaign to the East.

“It is a crop that can be counted among the most profitable in Europe. The soil conditions in Greece have adapted these varieties in terms of yield, profitability and quality” the General Manager of Hippophaes Hellas told APE-MPE. Nikos Doukas.

In our country, a variety is cultivated which is found only in Siberia and has been fully adapted to the Greek climate. The positives according to Mr. Doukas are that they “don’t have thorns” but also that the fruit is “not “stuck” on the branch”, which helps in terms of ease of collection.

In fact, in this regard, an American company has created a collection machine, which has helped to drastically reduce production costs.

Attractive cultivation in Greece

For producers, sea buckthorn cultivation is one of the most profitable. Especially for Greek growers, the selling price is highly competitive.

In China, where huge areas of up to 25 million hectares are cultivated, the selling price is 2 euros per kilo. In our country, at the same time, it reaches 2.5 euros per kilo, and if the particularly low production costs are added to this, then the profits for the Greek producer are many times higher.

This is one of the main reasons for the attractiveness of the crop. “Many are those who wish to “turn” to sea buckthorn, especially in the region of Thessaly where the great disasters took place,” Mr. Doukas points out.

Greek, the sweetest sea buckthorn in the world

In our country, as Mr. Doukas reports to APE-MPE, the most delicious and sweet sea buckthorn fruit in the world is cultivated. To this should be added three times the size of the fruit. All this results in the best producer price.

However, for the crop to pay off, patience is needed since after the 3rd year its production begins which is in full development during the 5th – 6th year, with an average yield of 1.5 tonnes per hectare.

The main growing areas in our country are Thessaly and Macedonia. The floods that hit Thessaly had the effect of completely destroying the 300-400 acres planted in the area. It is noted that in Greece, before the “Daniel” theology, the areas planted with sea buckthorn amounted to approximately 800 acres.

“So our main production is now in Macedonia” notes Mr. Doukas, with production reaching around 150 tons.

The production is then bought by a company which in turn manufactures the world’s first 100% natural sea buckthorn juice.

Finally, no added sugar has made it attractive to foreign markets, such as Italy and the US, which have shown strong interest.