TIMESINDONESIA, JAKARTA – European apples and kiwis are enjoying strong success in Indonesia  with a fresh push from the “Garden of Europe” campaign. Co - Funded by the European Union, the campaign aims to raise awareness around the high quality, safety, and taste of apples from Poland and kiwis from Greece, all grown in Europe.

This year hasn’t been easy for Europe’s fruit growers. In Greece, farmers faced an unprecedented series of weather disasters in 2023 Greece — including extreme heat, historic forest fires, and devastating floods — the country’s kiwifruit sector remains resilient. The Thessaly region, a key production area, was particularly affected, yet Greece still expects to harvest around 311,000 tonnes of kiwifruit for the 2023/24 season. This reinforces Greece’s status as the EU’s fourth-largest fruit producer and a rising force in global kiwifruit exports.

In Poland, the 2024 apple harvest faced challenges due to late frosts, high humidity, and labor shortages. As a result, production is expected to fall to around 3.2 million tonnes, down 18% from 2023. While quality remains strong, the overall volume is lower. Nonetheless, Poland continues to be one of the world’s top apple exporters — and a key supplier to the Indian market.

EU fruit exports to Indonesia dropped in 2024 to 3,300 tons — down from over 21,000 tons in 2023. But the campaign isn’t slowing down. Through its activities,  Garden of Europe is working to make European fruit a familiar and trusted choice.

With Indonesia’s growing appetite for imported produce, the timing couldn’t be better. Young consumers are looking for safe, high-quality food — and European apples and kiwis fit the bill.

“Garden of Europe” is an EU co-funded campaign promoting European fruits (apples & kiwis) in the Indonesian market.

The campaign’s beneficiaries are the Agricultural Cooperative of Neapoli from Greece and the Association of Polish Fruit and Vegetables Distributors “Fruit Union” from Poland. For more information, please visit www.appleandkiwi.eu.