In a statement to The New Arab, the general director of marketing and crossings of the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza, engineer Ismail Jalal, said that the decision to allow the entry of citrus comes after the almost complete exhaustion of the domestic production.
Ismail added that the sector produces about 70% of the citrus consumed every year, with the other 30% imported from the territories occupied since 1948, in order to meet the needs of consumers and ensure the best market conditions for both consumers and producers. Overall, Ismail reported that the sector markets over 35 thousand tonnes of citrus fruits of various kinds per year.
The government official noted that the average annual import of citrus from the territories occupied since 1948 has remained somewhere between 12 to 13 thousand tonnes. In 2015, imports totalled 12 thousand and 200 tonnes, and in 2016 they amounted to 13 thousand tonnes.
Source: alaraby.co.uk
