After eight years, Gaza's Hamas rulers decided to revoke the ban on watermelon imports from Israel, as part of an attempt to push local farmers to reduce their prices. Just a week later, on Monday 27 June,
Gaza’s Ministry of Agriculture announced that the imports of watermelons from Israel would again stop, as the move was successful and local farmers agreed to lower their prices by the end of the week, according to the Ma’an news agency.
Tahsin al-Saqa, director of the ministry’s marketing department, said in a statement quoted by Ma’an that the consumer price of watermelon would be reduced from 10 shekels (approximately $2.50) per five kilograms to 10 shekels per eight kilograms.
Al-Saqa said in his statement that 600 tons of watermelon had been imported from Israel in the last three days.
Prior to the embargo that the Gaza government placed on Israel’s watermelon imports, between 20,000 and 30,000 tons of watermelon were imported every year, according to Ma’an. Local production subsequently improved to the extent that it was able to completely cover market demand.
However, the land cultivated for watermelon production fell from 4,500 dunams (1,112 acres) last year to 3,500 dunams (865 acres) this year.
Source: israelnationalnews.com
