Boost for local honey, olive oil

The main idea behind new rules for product trading and service supply published yesterday in the Government Gazette that will apply as of September 20 appears to be providing consumers with more information, while fines for those who break the law are seen dropping by up to 60 percent.

The new regulations should also bolster products of importance to the local economy, such as Greek olive oil and honey.

Honey importers, for example, will have to notify the market monitoring authorities within 10 working days of receiving imports, with the aim of reducing the phenomenon of imported honey being branded as Greek. Sector professionals point out that about onefifth of the honey traded in Greece as Greek is actually imported from other countries, mainly from Bulgaria.

Another regulation bans restaurants from refilling bottles of olive oil on the tables from bulk supplies. Now they will have to have single-use branded bottles on their tables, while also having to inform clients about the final price of each item served. Vehicle repair shops are obliged to list the full set of services they offer complete with rates, supermarkets are banned from selling ground meat that has previously been processed and packaged, and retailers will not be allowed to defrost and sell unpacked any fish or other kind of seafood.

Italian group Grimaldi is preparing to send a complaint to the competition department of the European Commission (DG Comp) against what it sees as the threat of concentration conditions in the Greek coastal shipping sector. Group chief Emanuele...