The feasibility of the caper industry in Malta : the present situation and future prospects in the light of Malta's entry in the European Union

Abstract

The increase in consumer demand for healthier and more sustainable food, coupled with the expansion of food tastes, led to an increase in the popularity of the Mediterranean diet, which includes food tastes of a special delicacy such as that of capers. Within the European Union, capers are recognised as a highly priced commodity and are in fact traded on a world-wide basis amongst almost sixty countries. Within the Mediterranean region, capers are cultivated in many regions. The island of Pantelleria is the only place which has so far managed to obtain the European Union quality certification under the Controlled Designation of Origin schemes for its caper product. Hence, this study explores the potentiality of the Maltese capers in the light of Malta's membership within the European Union. This study also explores the possibility of how the local caper product can be better presented in foreign niche markets by recognising the local capers as a quality product under the European Union's Controlled Designation of Origin schemes. Therefore, this study analyses the possibilities and the process through which such a certification is attained. This is done by examining the different perspectives of various stakeholders involved in the local caper market. In such a way, this study will be analysing the feasibility of the caper industry in Malta, in the light of Malta's membership within the European Union. Finally this study shows that in theory it is possible to obtain the European Union quality certification for the local caper product and that the local product has more potentiality in the local market.