2024-04-09 15:15:01
Place, Chios – product, mastic. The connection is made almost automatically, since Chios and mastic have been identified for centuries. After all, only the nature of the island is endowed with the production of this excellent product with various uses.
The Mastic Producers Association of Chios, with its approximately 3,000 members, is responsible for the promotion and spread of mastic throughout the world. The president of the association, Kostas Ganiaris, who is also the deputy governor of Chios, gave us two important news about mastic: Soon this natural product will also be available in a capsule, while the establishment of a mastic museum in southern Chios has been launched.
In particular, the National Medicines Organization recently gave permission for the first batch of mastic parapharmaceutical preparation to be released.
Thus, the consumer will have the possibility from the coming days to more easily enjoy the beneficial – and sometimes therapeutic, for some ailments – properties of mastic.
These properties, which were known from folk medicine, have also been documented by scientific studies and research. The president of the Association of Mastic Producers of Chios emphasized that this move will also be used as a vehicle for the expansion of the product in the western markets, where the consumer is more interested in the elements that are good for his body, while on the other hand the Anatolian is attracted by the taste and the fragrance. That’s why until now 65% of mastic exports are made to Eastern countries.
Regarding the mastic museum, Mr. Ganiaris stated that it is a matter of days before it is included in the “entrepreneurship – competitiveness” program of the Ministry of Regional Development. The museum, which is expected to be ready in two years, will be installed on a privately owned area of 50 acres of the association in southern Chios, a natural area of mastic. So there, the union with a partner, the Piraeus Bank cultural foundation, will create the mastic culture body.
That is, it will not be a simple collection of exhibits, but the gathering of the elements that make up culture, the culture of mastic. In the museum, everyone, from a student to a university student, will be able to see the course of mastic (trading, trading, tradition) from the first mentions of Hesiod until today and make use of the material.
“Our goal with this ambitious program is to make the island the world center of mastic. There will be elements from Greek, Turkish, Arabic literature and in general anything written about mastic around the world, so that we can highlight its culture,” said Mr. Ganiaris. He characterized the initiative as a major intervention in the island’s cultural and tourist affairs, as it is expected that the museum will become a tourist attraction (estimated at 40,000-50,000 annually).
The president of the association noted that last year the total production reached 116 tons, while this year a significant increase is expected (it may exceed 140). An important advantage is, according to Mr. Ganiaris, the preservation of the traditional way of farming. However, he added that the production of mastic is not an easy task.
As long as there are people
Speaking from the position of the deputy regional governor, Kostas Ganiaris emphasized that the great strength of Chios was and is its people, who have always been characterized by extroversion.
Mr. Ganiaris believes that it is appropriate for Chios to address the huge Turkish market (6,000-7,000,000 people live on the opposite coast alone), ensuring conditions of equal treatment and highlighting the quality, in which it excels. The deputy governor pointed out that the North Aegean Region is also experiencing the economic crisis, with a serious reduction in funds, adding that now the hopes for the execution of projects have been entrusted to the NSRF. Regarding the necessary infrastructure projects, he focused on the port ones, on those related to the improvement of the airport, as well as on the completion of the island’s second dam, noting that there is a study background for them.
Dimitris Kyriakopoulos
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