Good switch in pepper season, but mediocre demand

The pepper import from Israel started over a week ago. "There aren't huge amounts arriving yet, but the volumes are increasing. Compared to last year the prices are a lot higher, but we started dramatically low back then, and there were Spanish, Israeli and Dutch peppers on the market. This year the switch from the different season went a lot smoother," says an importer.

The importer says the demand for peppers from all important export markets is disappointing. "It's very quiet in the trade. But there are a lot of pepper heading straight from Israel to Russia. The price of the red peppers varies, depending on the sort, from 5.50 to 7 Euro. The price of the yellow and orange peppers is between 7 and 7.50 Euro.

According to the importer the demand for organic peppers is increasing and there is still a good demand, mainly from the US, for organic produce. The Israeli organic cherry vine tomatoes are also escaping the general dip in prices, with a price level of 6/6.50 Euro. The market for the conventional tomatoes is quite pressured, due to a large supply from Morocco, amongst other things.