Naxos is famous as the most fertile island of the Cyclades. It has a good
supply of water in an area where water is usually inadequate owing to the scarceness of the
rainfall which makes farming and stock - raising rather difficult. The mountain Zas (1004 m) is
the highest peak in the Aegean Sea which tends to trap the clouds, permitting a greater duration
of rainfall than what occurs on the other islands.Agricultural production is satisfactory, especially on the small coastal plains. There is noteworthy production of olive oil in the centre of the island in the vicinity of the villages of Damariona, Halki, Filoti and Moni.
Stock-raising is much more developed owing to the terrain (mountainous in most of the island) and there is important production of meat, milk and cheese. The Farmers Cooperative Movement of Naxos has brought into production a modern Cheese-factory with a high volume of production of top-quality cheeses and other products.
In the field of mineral products,Naxos is famous for its white marble and its emery of the world's best quality which is of a hardness which makes it suitable for different uses.
In the manufacturing sector there is average progress at the workshop level but almost none at the factory level, owing to the mainly tourist and farming-orientated economy of the island.The production of the local wine and the nationally-known liqueur Citron, the production of high-quality "spoon-sweets", the introduction of soft-drink bottling, and particularly the running of a Cheese factory on an experimental basis, form the basis of the manufacturing output of the island. An important contribution is made to the family economies, as well as the island economy in general, by considerable production of items of folk art in a great variety, which are chiefly offered for sale in the local shops during the tourist season. Good quality is guaranteed in every case.