Land of milk and honey

Monthly expense on honey, dairy products per Israeli household amounts to NIS 147, survey conducted by Central Bureau of Statistics reveals
Ynet

Israelis love dairy products, as well as honey, a new survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics ahead of the holiday of Shavuot revealed.

According to the findings, in 2004 a family's monthly expense on pasteurized milk was NIS 46 (about USD 10), on dairy products NIS 29 (USD 6.5), on hard cheese NIS 28 (USD 6.2), on white soft cheese NIS 41, (USD 9), and on honey NIS 3 (USD 0.6) a month.

The survey also showed that in 2005 Israelis paid NIS 4.42 (about USD 1) for one liter of pasteurized milk, which constitutes a rise of 4.2 percent from 2004.

During 2005, the total production of milk (from cattle, sheep and goat) reached 1,221 million liters (322.5 million gallons), a rise of 1.1 percent from 2004.

580 tons of honey

These figures translate to NIS 2.15 billion (USD 476), which is 11.2 percent of the total agriculture products.

Self-consumption of milk is measured at 185 liters (about 49 gallons) per year, per person.

Honey production in Israel during 2005 stood at 3,200 tons (6,400,000 pounds), valued at NIS 48.3 million (USD 10.7 million), a drop of 8.6 percent in production but a rise of 3.4 percent in price, compared to 2004.

Free import of honey was approved in 2003, and during 2005 Israel imported 580 tons (1,220,000 pounds) of honey, so that each Israeli had half a kilogram (one pound) of honey at his or her disposal.