The Entity

The Entity

The Entity

Chios Mastiha Growers Association was founded in 1938 as a compulsory agricultural cooperative according to Law 1390 and represents an entity that has undertaken the exclusive management of natural Chios Mastiha in Greece and abroad.

It is the collective representative organ of 20 primary cooperatives founded in the 24 mastiha villages (Mastihohoria) of southern Chios.

Today, Chios Mastiha Growers Association has approximately 4.500 members and is among the largest organizations in North Aegean periphery.

The activities

The main business and co-operational activities of the Association concern:

  • the organization and management of the agricultural production.
  • support offered to mastiha growers-associates.
  • dealing with matters regarding the legal protection of mastiha and its relevant trade marks.
  • the coordination and support of scientific research regarding the lentisk, as well as mastiha’s attributes, action and different uses.
  • the cleaning, packaging and trade of natural mastiha, as well as the design, confection and trade of ELMA products.
  • the research and development of new products.
  • The production and trade of mastiha products (mastiha oil, mastiha oil flavour, mastiha powder, mastiha water)

The Association produces, packages and trades Chios natural mastiha, mastiha oil and mastiha water, mastiha powder and ΕLMA chewing gum. 

Its trade activity is mostly exporting, since approximately 70% of Chios mastiha annual production is forwarded to foreign markets. It is also worth mentioning that the most important products of the Association have been qualified as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) products. 

Investments

At the turn of the past decade and after year-long efforts, Chios Mastiha Growers Association actually completed the first stage of its reorganization, something which helped create those conditions that brought profits and renovation to the whole entity. Today, its Administration has approved the basic orientations of a medium-long term Development and Reorganization Scheme, with a budget of 10.000.000€, the implementation of which is expected to lead the Association rapidly and safely to even higher levels of performance and yield, thus guaranteeing mastiha growers’ present and future.

In this concept, the opening of the Association’s new production facilities in Kardamada area of Chios, close to the chewing gum production unit, shall be a great contribution.

It is also worth noticing that a Memorandum of collaboration was signed on September 21, 2009, aiming at founding a «Mastiha Museum» in Chios, within the context of co-financed projects in the field of tourism of the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF). The Chios Mastiha Museum will be located in the region of the mastiha villages and a permanent exhibition of the Chios mastiha will be established in it as a unique product. 

The creation and operation of the new «Mastiha Museum» in Chios aims at safeguarding the technique of traditional cultivation, at demonstrating the product and its uniqueness, at developing cultural and agricultural tourism in Chios island, by closely relating its landscape, its monuments, mastiha’s civilization and a better quality of life for the area’s population thanks to the strengthening of local economy.