Diamantis Tsiatouras (left) and Christos Lavdas of Rijk Zwaan Hellas

Diamantis Tsiatouras (left) and Christos Lavdas of Rijk Zwaan Hellas

Rijk Zwaan Hellas has announced that it has, as of 1 January, taken over the sales activities in the country previously handled by the its distributor Agrosystem.

According to the group, the new subsidiary is expected to respond to the needs of the Greek vegetable sector even more effectively than Agrosystem.

The management team of Rijk Zwaan Hellas comprises Christos Lavdas and Diamantis Tsiatouras, both of whom have been working at Agrosystem for many years, while the rest of the Agrosystem team are also transferring to Rijk Zwaan Hellas, which is based in Irapetra on the island of Crete.

Rijk Zwaan has been active in Greece for more than 35 years and has built up a sizeable market share in different vegetable crops.

“Our own subsidiary will enable our breeders to respond to the needs of the Greek market even more quickly and it will also improve the availability of information for the entire chain,” said Marco van Leeuwen, managing director. “Hence, the opening of Rijk Zwaan Hellas will help us to expand our product assortment and launch varieties even faster.”

The Greek agri-food sector is currently undergoing rapid professionalisation, accoridng to the company, with a growing number of high-tech greenhouses being built and chain management on the rise.

“The country has good export opportunities to the Balkan region and other European countries, especially in the winter and early spring,' van Leeuwen added. 'Thanks to our top-class varieties, we can make a significant contribution to the year-round availability of high-quality vegetables.'