Israel’s date season will begin this week, with the yellow crunchy Barhi dates being harvested first. “After two years of Corona affecting the dates market worldwide, finally, Israel's date production returns to normal with an expected volume of 50 000 tons,” says Tal Dagul, VP Marketing at Agrifood Marketing, a leading Israeli dates exporter.
“Agrifood Marketing exports about 1 500 tons of Medjool dates and 100 tons of yellow Barhi dates. The Barhi season, which will begin this week is very short and lasts for only one month. Barhi Prices change every week, because it’s a fresh product and the quantity is limited. The season starts with high prices and then prices decrease as supply increases. In the first weeks, we ship by air to reach the markets early, despite the high price of transportation, afterwards it’s shipped by sea as market prices decrease.”
The Medjool dates mass harvest is planned to begin in about one month from now depending on the production area. The Arava area in the South near the Red Sea will begin a week earlier says Dagul.
“At this stage, it is too early to talk about the quality of the Medjool dates as they've just started to change colour from green to yellow. However, at the moment, we do see big sizes on the trees, the quality seems good and we don't expect any special problems as production volume grows to 50 000 tons, 15% higher than last year. Last season was tough, the production was only 43 000 tons, and should have been 47 000. We are glad to be back to a normal production and will be able to fulfill all programs and demands,” states Dagul.
Agrifood export´s Barhi, Medjool and super juicy Bonbon dates all across Europe. Their main markets are Spain, France, the Netherlands and Germany. England and Scandinavian countries are emerging markets for Agrifood Marketing says Dagul.
“Despite the global crises that have befallen us in recent years, we are experiencing an increase in demand for the Medjool dates, which continues to attract consumers from all sectors, especially health seekers and athletes as dates continues to be the healthy answer to the need for sweets.”
He says Israeli exporters face a lot of pressure due to the Israeli Shekel exchange rate that is very strong compared to the Euro. "One Euro is 3.35 ILS as for today. In one year the Euro lost 15% of its value to the Shekel, and makes Israeli exporters be less attractive. This is a big problem for both exporters and farmers that face a very sensitive situation, which makes it difficult to keep the industry profitable. On the other hand, there is difficulty compensating for the loss in rates vis-à-vis the European client who is also facing difficulties at home. We have always known how to deal with such difficulties and overcome them. We believe in our product, in its advantages and quality and are sure that the final European consumer who likes the product very much will vote with his feet and will increase the demand and at the same time we hope for an improvement in the exchange rates,” explains Dagul.
For more information:
Tal Dagul
Agrifood Marketing
Tel: +972-485-22749
Email: Tald@agrifood.co.il
www.agrifood-marketing.com