The market for cucumbers in Israel has been characterised by volatility. The local production is barely sufficient to meet demand, and so any disruption in supply or spike in demand creates shortages and sends prices soaring.
Such situations occurred on multiple occasions in the last six months, for example in the summer when a heat wave hurt growers’ ability to maintain production, and during the holiday period when demand increased well beyond the available supply.
In these cases, the high price of €3.68 per kg was more than triple the average price. Under normal conditions, cucumber prices in Israeli supermarkets range from €0.98/kg to €1.30/kg, however the €2.00 price level was crossed on several occasions.
The Israeli government has recently authorised tariff-free import of cucumbers up to a quota, to ensure sufficient supply in the market and prevent price spikes. This move has been met with resistance from local growers who are concerned that importation could hurt the local industry in the future.
Exporting has not been a viable option for producers in most cases due to high local demand, however there have been some attempts to produce premium quality which can garner high prices.