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Trade issues affecting virgin olive oil originating in Greece are examined. A gravity model is estimated to determine the factors affecting trade in olive oil. The results provided by the gravity model yield information that is central to determining the strengths and weaknesses of the sector, as well as the opportunities and threats that exist. Finally, some proposals and suggestions are developed for increasing the international competitiveness of the Greek olive oil industry and endowing it with essential quality and safety assurances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The kiwi is a highly insect-pollinated dependent crop and is the cornerstone of the Greek agricultural sector, rendering the country as the fourth biggest kiwi producer worldwide, with an expected increase in national production the following years. This extensive transformation of the Greek arable land to Kiwi monocultures in combination with a worldwide shortage of pollination services due to the wild pollinators' decline raises questions for the provision of pollination services, and consequently, for the sustainability of the sector. In many countries, this shortage of pollination services has been addressed by the installation of pollination services markets, such as those in the USA and France. Therefore, this study tries to identify the barriers towards the implementation of a pollination services market in Greek kiwi production systems by conducting two separate quantitative surveys, one for beekeepers and one for kiwi producers. The findings showed a strong basis for further collaboration between the two stakeholders, as both of them acknowledge the importance of pollination services. Moreover, the farmers' willingness to pay and the beekeepers' willingness to receive of the beekeepers regarding the renting of their hives for pollination services were examined.

Although the inclusion of insects in fish diets is officially allowed in the EU since 2017, insect-based aquafeeds have not been widely adopted by the European aquaculture sector. In order to investigate the perceptions related with adoption trends, it is critical to explore the beliefs of people associated with the aquaculture sector on the use of insects in farmed fish diets. A survey was conducted among 228 participants of an aquaculture conference to explore their perceptions on the inclusion of insect meal in fish diets. Additionally, we investigated the attitudes of nine companies operating in the aquaculture and aquafeed sector in Greece that attended the conference towards this direction. The findings of the conference survey provide evidence that there is a wide-range awareness and acceptance regarding the use of insect-based feeds in farmed fish diets among the respondents. This is mainly driven by the expectations for the decline in fishing pressure on wild fish stocks, the reduction of the ecological footprint and the enhancement of the sustainability of the aquaculture sector. The results of the stakeholder survey show that six out of the nine companies that participated in the survey are favorably disposed towards the use of insect-based feeds. Specifically, four of them stated that they would produce or use aquafeeds based on insects. However, the results highlight the need for further research on the implementation of the wider adoption of insect-based feeds in aquaculture. The present study provides some first insights into the use of insect-based aquafeeds in Greece, for which there are no data available.

In this research, the attitude of European young adults (age 18 to 30 years) regarding their consumption of local and traditional products was examined. The survey was conducted on a sample of 836 consumers from seven European countries (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark and France). Data collection was made by distributing a developed questionnaire through social media and university mail services. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to identify consumer perception comparing the overall sample with two subsets (consumers from Eastern and Western European countries). Six major factors were revealed: consumer behavior, uncertainty about health issues, cost, influence of media and friends and availability in store. Young adults had a positive attitude to local and traditional food products, but they expressed insecurity about health issues. Cost factor had less of an influence on interviewees from Eastern European countries than those from the overall sample (3rd and 5th factor accordingly). Influence of close environment was a different factor in Eastern countries compared to Western ones, for which it was common to see an influence from media. Females and older people (25-30 years old) have fewer doubts about Traditional Food Products, while media have a high influence on consumers' decisions. The aim of this survey was to identify the consumer profiles of young adults and create different promotion strategies of local and traditional products among the two groups of countries.

We evaluated knockdown caused by four insecticides: alpha-cypermethrin, chlorfenapyr, pirimiphos-methyl and fipronil against adults of Tribolium confusum Jacquelin Duval, the confused flour beetle and Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.), the sawtoothed grain beetle. Bioassays were conducted on concrete and metal surfaces. Adults of the tested species were exposed on both surfaces treated with the above insecticides at two doses (low and high). Knockdown assessment was done after 15, 30 and 60 min of adult exposure in the treated surfaces. Also, after 1, 3, 5, 7 and 14 d of exposure, a lethality index was calculated with an equation resulting to values from 0 to 100, where 100 indicated complete mortality and 0 complete survival. We also developed a lethality index by ranking each adult on each surface from 0 to 4, 0: adults moved normally, 1: adults were knocked down, but were able to walk for short intervals, 2: adults were knocked down and unable to walk, but with visible movement of antennae etc., 3: adults were knocked down, with very minimal movement of the tarsi and the antennae and 4: adults were dead (no movement). Knockdown of adults immediately after exposure (15-60 min) was higher for pirimiphos-methyl followed by alpha-cypermethrin, for both dose rates tested and species, but only on the metal surface. The lethality index was nearly 100 for all insecticides after 5d of exposure for O. surinamensis, while for T. confusum the adult lethality index was considerably lower for alpha-cypermethrin, suggesting that that recovery from knockdown occurred. Chlorfenapyr was the only insecticide that was more effective on concrete than on metal, while the reverse was noted for the other three insecticides. These results show that knockdown has different levels, which can be used as indicators of insect mortality or recovery.