We visited Panayialio Union of Cooperatives (PES), the largest exporter currant type "Vostitsa".

PES was founded in 1935 in Aigoo, when the Union of Raisin Cooperatives (1918) - pioneer of the agricultural cooperative idea and activity in Greece - and the Raisin Bank of Vostitsis (1923) were merged, with the main purpose of collecting and marketing raisins of its member producers.

The first impression one makes when visiting state-of-the-art facilities of the Union is order and organization. Visitors as well as employees take a thousand and two precautions - for raisins of course - before entering the production area. The products are exported to England and the high standards of technology, safety and hygiene ensure their excellent quality.

The president of the company Thanasis Sotiropoulos informs us about:

"In 1980, Greece produced 70.000 tons of black currants. Today, when production has been reduced to 25.000 tons, the Panagialeios Union of Cooperatives manages 60% of the raisins of the wider Peloponnese and the most impressive is that 95% of the production goes abroad. Since 1980, the Cooperative has been the exclusive supplier of the Mark & ​​Spencer chain of stores. The only competitor of the Corinthian raisin is the sultana raisin, which holds 70% of the world production, gaining a significant market share as it is cheaper. In Greece (Crete) around 10.000 tons of sultanas are produced, while in Turkey 300.000 tons per year ".

The modern production facilities (with the most modern machines of the food industry, such as laser sorting machines, x-rays, metal detectors, etc.) in the modern privately owned building complex that includes raisin, olive oil and citrus processing plants, meet the strictest standards of food factories and to the most demanding standards of the largest industries abroad.

About 200 specialized people are employed daily in the industrial activities of PES, while the Department of Research and Development aims to ensure the quality of products produced and to research new methods for the production of new products. At the same time, studies are being carried out to highlight the nutritional and nutritional characteristics of the once "black gold" of Greece.

Leaving the Panagialio Association of Cooperatives, you feel that it is one of the few companies they represent worthily our country abroad and who save it price of Cooperatives of the country.