At the moment, according to Berto, the Euro/dollar rate poses one of the greatest challenges, as “the dollar became a lot stronger, which makes it difficult for Israeli exporters to offer a good price. We are also hoping Europe will have cold weather, as that usually results in increased demand from Israel.”
In terms of acreage and growth, Berto affirms that Israel as a whole registers no big changes compared to last year. “As for Gaia, we are expanding every year with new growers and fields. We also have a much bigger demand from Russia due to the embargo, so we’ll redirect some of our exports from Western Europe to Russia.”
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Berto explains that one of the differences of the Russian market is that they are willing to purchase produce of lower quality, “even though this doesn’t really affect us much, because we focus on quality. They also purchase mostly red and green basil, rocket and mint, and only small volumes of others, instead of 30/40 products. It’s just a totally different market.”
Regarding Gaia (and Israel’s) competition, Berto says that Africa is growing as a herb producer, although it still lacks infrastructure and the product’s quality is not always on par with Israel. “Our efforts currently focus on shipping good quality herbs, but in the future there may be a possibility of combining African and Israeli herbs for Western Europe.”
In the winter, Gaia is ready to supply its baskets, not only to regular customers, but also new clients. Its range includes numerous products, including edible flowers; a market which is still small, but which, according to Berto, has certainly potential to expand.
“Edible flowers have traditionally been a niche market targeted to restaurants, but one of our clients is already buying them for supermarkets,” affirms Berto. “It is still an expensive product, as it involves a lot of manual work. It will depend on the customers, but I believe the moment that they become available in supermarkets, the market will surely grow.”
For more information:
Berto Levy
Gaia agricultural produce
Mob: +972 54 6777295
Fax: +972 3 5214598
[email protected]
www.gaiaherbs.co.il