“In general, the quantity of carrots has been less in Israel this year because of the very tough season last year,” said Oron Ziv of Befresh Europe. “So everyone planted less, and that's kept prices above a certain minimum.” Ziv estimated that production could be down between 20 and 25 percent from last season. Though returns from Russia haven't been exceptional because of the falling value of the ruble, demand from Europe has made up for shortcomings from the Russian market.
“The quality of conventional carrots in European cold storage is not so good,” explained Ziv. “So people are looking to Israel for fresh carrots. There is good demand in Russia, but there is also good demand in Europe, where carrot prices are very nice.”
Befresh also works with potato growers, and much like the situation for carrots, potato production has been down this year. Harvesting has also been late, but low volumes have helped boost prices. For both commodities, the current season has already gotten off to a better start than last season.
“Things could be better, but we're not complaining,” said Ziv. “We try to stay positive, and things look promising this year.”
For more information:
Oron Ziv
BeFresh Europe Ltd.
Phone: +972 3 968 2929
Fax: +972 4 672 5001
Email: oron@befreshcorp.com
www.befreshcorp.com