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Cyprus Crops
Crop production was by far the most important component
of
agriculture. In 1988 it contributed 71 percent of total
value added
in agriculture, compared with 19 percent for livestock.
Ancillary
production contributed 6 percent; the shares of fishing
and
forestry were 3 and 1 percent, respectively.
A wide range of crops were grown on Cyprus. Cereals
(wheat and
barley), legumes, vegetables (carrots, potatoes, and
tomatoes),
fruit and other tree crops (almonds, apples, bananas,
carobs,
grapes, grapefruit, lemons, melons, olives, oranges, and
peaches)
(see
table 12, Appendix).
Crops were rainfed or irrigated. Wheat and barley were
rainfed
or dryland crops, as were carobs, olives, fodder, and wine
grapes.
Crops that required irrigation included vegetables, citrus
fruits,
deciduous fruits, bananas, and table grapes. These
irrigated crops
accounted for half of agricultural production.
Cereals, mainly wheat and barley, grew mostly on the
Mesaoria,
the island's central plain. Production fluctuated widely,
depending
on rainfall. Wheat's importance relative to barley
declined
steadily during the 1980s, the result of greater subsidies
paid for
the raising of barley. Despite the subsidies and a
doubling of
barley production, only part of the domestic need for
cereals was
met, and substantial imports were necessary.
Market vegetables grew in many areas around the island.
The
potato was the most important of these crops, far
outstripping
tomatoes, carrots, water and sweet melons, cucumbers, and
others in
both weight and value. In fact, the potato was the most
important
agricultural product in the late 1980s, during which more
than 80
percent of its production was exported (see
table 13,
Appendix). In
1987 the potato earned 10 percent of the total value of
domestic
exports, more than any other item except clothing. Because
the
Cypriot potato was harvested twice, in winter and in early
spring,
it had a competitive advantage in the European market.
Britain was
the largest consumer. A shortage of suitable land and a
need for
irrigation meant that the potato's importance for Cypriot
agriculture would likely decline in the 1990s, but it
would remain
one of the sector's main supports.
Citrus production was another irrigated crop that was
important
for exports; about 75 percent of production was consumed
abroad.
Groves of oranges, lemons, grapefruit, and tangerines were
located
along the coasts. Unlike potato production, that of citrus
fruits
was expected to expand greatly in the 1990s, and one
estimate
foresaw a yield of 350,000 tons by the turn of the
century,
compared with 169,000 tons in 1989.
Viniculture and the production of wine have been major
economic
activities for centuries in Cyprus. Most vineyards are
located in
the southwestern part of the island on the slopes of the
Troodos
Mountains in the Paphos district and in hilly areas in the
Limassol
district. Some grapes were grown for table consumption,
but about
four-fifths of the harvest was used for wine, two-thirds
of it
exported. In 1989 the grape harvest amounted to 212,000
tons, and
wine production was 34.1 million liters. The most commonly
grown
grapes were the xymisteria and mavro varieties. Systematic
efforts
were undertaken by the government to improve the quality
of Cypriot
grapes, and different kinds of wine were manufactured to
increase
exports, mainly to Europe.
Deciduous tree crops common to temperate climates,
including
olives, apples, pears, peaches, carobs, and cherries, were
also
grown. These crops required some cool weather during the
year, and
the orchards were almost entirely in mountainous areas.
Almond
trees, which do not need cool weather, were widespread on
the
plains. Olives were easily the most important export item
of these
tree crops.
Data as of January 1991
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