New Greek food products knocking at the US door

By Konstantinos Rhompotis

Greek agricultural products are well placed to conquer the European and international markets, according to Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Food of Greece Kostas Kiltidis, who himself belongs to a new breed of leadership, willing to make bold moves and take risks in order to open doors and ways.“Our aim is to bring out all those relative advantages of our agriculture in order for our products to gain the position they deserve,” he says. “The basic aim of the ministry is for our country to obtain a strong and competitive edge in the agriculture-livestock sector, with main advantage points the exceptional quality and the safety for the consumer that our products are already famous for.” Important assurances as the outcry over damaged Chinese goods, and recently the salmonella-infected tomatoes are yet to subside, leaving American consumers as preoccupied as ever. In the meantime, the buzz over the so-called Mediterranean diet – different Mediterranean versions of Greek cuisine basically – is constantly on the rise, thanks not only to taste but to health benefits as well, leaving the space wide open for high quality, naturally produced Greek goodies. Kostas Kiltidis’ interview with NEO was done in the wake of his recent visit to the US, where he had the opportunity to hold a series of meeting with key American officials, among them Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mark Keenum, and people from the industry.

During your recent visit to the US, you said that the American market is in demand of more high quality Greek products, including and besides the staple olive oil, wine and cheese.

Besides these particularly Greek agricultural products, we are promoting and simultaneously demonstrating a series of other products in the U.S market, as derivatives by the processing of the organic products as well as products of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). So, we target this new sector emerging in the U.S market, where Greek products of organic and alternative crops (aromatic products, crocus of Kozani, truffles, chestnuts, pomegranate etc.) can certainly find their place.

In which ways will you support the production of these organic products?

Greece is following the common European orientation and within this framework there is an incentive of subsidies for the production of the organic products aiming at the infrastructure enforcement for their long term produce and disposal in the market.

I would like to point that, during my recent visit to the U.S., as you previously mentioned, I had the opportunity to ascertain that the respective subsidies’ strategy is compatible with U.S practices. We take advantage of every possibility, by participating to the international exhibitions, exchanging views with colleagues, inviting to Greece representatives of other countries and always with the contribution of the competent inter-professional organizations as well as the producers, processors and exporters representatives, to make our products the best in the world.

Is production capable of proving a steady supply to the US market without altering the quality?

We believe, as I said before, that the Greek agriculture is competitive, provides significant comparative advantages and has a future. All we need is to demonstrate the higher quality of the Greek agricultural products in comparison to those of other countries, especially the ones in our neighborhood.

Finally, we must show off those special quality characteristics and point out the importance of the Mediterranean diet, in order to conquer the U.S market. Already, in large international markets such as China, Japan, Australia, Canada, Russia and almost in all EU countries, we have succeeded in doing that. We have established transparency in the production stage (pesticides, fertilizers etc.) and traceability (control in every production and processing stage).

After the meeting you held in the US, are you more optimistic about opening this market to Greek products, a goal of many of your predecessors as well.

Certainly. The Greek agricultural products as the olive oil and the olives, the wine and the cheeses (mainly feta) present a continuous penetration and un upward trend to the international markets and especially in the U.S, not because over three millions Greeks live and work there, but due to the comparative advantages our products have in comparison to those of other countries. Also I would like to mention the rapid increase of organic products’ demand as well as of products of highly dietary value. The latter was pointed out during my visit by the US Deputy Minister of Agriculture Mark Keenum. So, the products’ promotion is more intensive in the U.S market and with joint efforts and initiatives we will succeed.

Has the weak dollar affected the competitiveness of the Greek products in the U.S market?

I think that in spite of the adverse world economic conjuncture, our country has not been affected that much.

How can the American, and especially the Greek-American community, help in the rural development of Greece, especially after last year’s disastrous wildfires?

Before I answer your question, allow me to say a few words about the catastrophic fires as well as about the actions taken by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food. The reconstruction of the areas hit by the catastrophic fires in 2007 is a huge challenge for us. We proceed based on plans and we are attempting step by step the regeneration of the burned areas of our country. We are implementing the reconstruction of the rural and forestry areas, taking specific actions. Within this framework I would like to point out that we activated the Special Forestry Agency financing the forestry interventions. We also proceeded to the immediate drawing of the forest maps giving priority to the areas of Attica and Halkidiki. During my meeting with the US Director of the Forestry Service Tom Harbor, who is in charge of wildfires and aerial fire extinction, we exchanged views on the structure and function of forest services as well as on the mechanisms for fire fighting. In the course of our discussion the need for the re-establishment of the Forest Service came up. In the US, man power is primarily utilized for fire prevention, since technology alone (cameras, detectors etc,) has been proven not effective enough.

The American-Greek community is helping from the beginning in numerous ways. The Foundation Plant your Roots in Greece, for example, is leading the effort for reforestation of the affected areas. The response of the American Hellenes was immediate and touching, reconfirming an affinity that makes us proud for out common ancestry.

How was your meeting with Archbishop Demetrios?

My meeting with Archbishop Demetrios was a special experience for me. His presence can be compared to a beacon of light, not only for the Greek Orthodox people in America, but for all Hellenes. We had the opportunity to discuss in detail the initiatives taken by his Office in order to alleviate the suffering of the people in the areas affected mostly by the wildfires. I would like to thank once again the Americans of Greek descent, all the Greeks living abroad, all those who contributed in the healing of wounds caused by this nightmare.