Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association L.L.C.
Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association L.L.C. was founded in 1938. It is a Compulsory Cooperative and the exclusive management administrator of natural Chios mastic for Greece and abroad. Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association L.L.C. is the collective expression of the 20 primary cooperatives that operate within the 24 mastic villages located in southern Chios, Greece. Today, the Association’s 4.850 members make it one of the largest organizations in the area of North Aegean.
Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association aims for the ubiquitous consumer to get to know Chios mastic through modern and beneficial products for health, products unique in taste and scent, with important and certified healing properties. Furthermore, respecting the growers’ hard work and efforts, Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association stands by their side, helping them to upgrade the cultivation of Chios mastic, to improve the production process and to ensure the highest profit for them.
Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association produces, packages and markets natural Chios mastic, mastic oil and mastic water, mastic powders and ELMA chewing gums. Its commercial activity is mainly focused on exports, as about 75% of the Chios mastic annual production is promoted in foreign markets. Noteworthy is the fact that the most important products of the Association are products of Protected Designation of Origin (PDO).
Currently, the Association’s Administration has approved the basic directions of a medium to long-term Development and Reorganization Plan, with a budget of €10.000.000. That plan’s implementation is expected to lead to even higher levels of returns and performance, that will ensure both the present and the future of mastic growers. Furthermore, the Association’s new facilities establishment in Kardamada, Chios, the Chios Mastic Research & Development Center establishment and the creation of "Mastic Museum" in Chios, within the co-financing plan of the European structural and investment funds (ESIF), will also contribute to the Association’s Development and Reorganization Plan mentioned above.
Chios Gum Mastic Growers Association has funded a total of 29 research projects and studies, carried out by research Centers and Universities both from Greece and abroad, at a total cost of €513.100, while it has co-financed 3 research programs in cooperation with the Greek General Secreteriat for Research and Innovation. Τhe results that came up, significantly contributed to the worldwide aknowledgement of Chios mastic’s beneficial properties and promoted products based on Chios mastic in the international markets.