crops was reduced by about 20%. As a result of the above reductions the
amount of fallow land has increased.
The management of water resources in Cyprus has always been
problematic due to the deficiencies present in the relevant laws, the
fractured nature of jurisdictions and the total lack of a unified body of
water management in the country. Recently, a political decision has been
launched to create a unified water body. Following EU accession and in the
frame of the Water Directive 2000/60/EC, efforts to introduce a common
invoicing policy are well advanced (Georgiou and Skordis, 2004).
3. Performance of the Agricultural Sector
In 1990- 2001, the value of exports declined in nominal prices by
32.7% in citrus, 39.6% in potatoes, 71.5% in table grapes and 31.9% in wine
products. With dairy products on the contrary, there was a stellar increase
of 250% and in meat- based products of 290%. It should also be noted that
during the last decade, the sector of animal production increased by 67.7%
in gross value terms and by 59.8% in value added terms. Quite the opposite
happened with vegetable production where increases were restricted to
14.2% and 20.8% grouping (Import- Export Statistics, 1990- 2001). The faster
growth of the animal sector was due to the much higher tariff protection
and the particularly generous subsidies. On the contrary, the agricultural
sector could not deal with the same competitive pressures that faced in
international markets, and after the partial liberalization of imports in 1995
as a result of the GATT agreement for agriculture, it started to recede in the
local market as well. Furthermore, other large scale cultivation products (i.e.
grapes, grains, olives) were facing structural and other problems and were
totally dependent on subsidies.
3.1. Products
Cyprus produces a variety of agricultural products in sufficient
quantities to satisfy its own needs and also export on a regular basis,
mainly, to the EU. This of course does not hold universally as products of
massive consumption like grains can never realistically be produced on the
needed scale. Beyond that, there is also a line of products of increased
importance to the overall economy due to the fact that they are produced in
large quantities and are exportable to the EU. In terms of value, potatoes
come first in the rankings with a median turnover of 26 million Cyprus
Pounds (1 CYP= 1.72 Euro) and tomatoes, cucumbers and all types of
melons are in second place at 23 million CYP. In third place we find grains
with citrus in fourth, all in terms of production value in nominal prices.
The yardstick of acreage indicates that grains and wine grapes rank
first among non- irrigable products. Following them are two important
irrigable products that are also exported; citrus and potatoes (Table 2,
Appendix). Sizeable land areas are also used for the growing of vegetables
and mainly, tomatoes, cucumbers, leafy vegetables etc. In the mountainous
and semi- mountainous regions apples, pears, cherries, peaches and other
deciduous fruits are mainly grown. The total acreage of table grapes has
been substantially reduced due to the seriousness of the problems faced in
continuing to export them.
It is quite difficult to make comparisons using as an index the acreage
due to the haphazard nature of their cultivations. However, the three most