The Israeli Ambassador, Alon Bar, will mediate between Spain and Israel in the Spanish fruit sector's demand so that his country unlocks phytosanitary protocols and facilitates exports of peach and other stone fruit.
"I'll help if I can. I'm not an expert and haven't had any previous contact with the sector, but the idea is to get to know the obstacles and see if we can help to lower the restrictions," said the ambassador to the media in Lleida.
"Hopefully we'll be able to do it," added the ambassador before meeting with thirty tourism, agriculture and livestock entrepreneurs, some of whom have customers in Israel, at a meeting organized by the Province of Lleida.
Alon Bar accepted to mediate after of one of the largest fruit cooperatives from Lleida, Actel, requested him to do so at the meeting, echoing the demand of the entire Spanish sector to eliminate the chancra disease protocol.
"Our customers from Israel would love to buy stone fruit but we can't sell it to them because of some phytosanitary requirements," said Actel's Commercial Director, Josep Lluís Trilla.
Trilla thus refers to the chancra, an infection that, in his words, is virtually contained and only exists in very old protocols.
"Israel wants this product, we want to take it there, but we can't do it," he concluded.
Source: EuropaPress