Israeli date farmers have a reason to rejoice after two difficult years embroiled in a crisis that brought about heavy losses; new markets are opening up and both the Euro and the US Dollar are ticking upward. This brings about the conditions to begin exporting their fruity goods into China, a venture that had previously failed.
With Israeli date harvest season now upon us, around 50,000 tons are expected to be collected nationwide. There are approximately 600 date farmers in Israel, and tens of thousands of Israeli families make their primary living from this juicy delight.
Chairman Amnon Grinberg from the Israeli plant council: "With dates being very popular for years, the field had recently experienced a downtrend that also involved the avocado, and that caused severe financial losses to those who rely on dates for a living, with a surplus in the Israeli market and no viable retail outlet or demand. Additionally, there's been a shortage of workers, pest infestations, a rise in worldwide boycotts against Israel and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic."
"We've started this season with no surplus so we start with a clean slate, and with a quality harvest and an aggressive marketing campaign, and with the uptick in the Euro and Dollar, we get more for each ton exported.”
Source: ynetnews.com