Kosher products
Israel not making most of US kosher food market
Of 2000 new kosher products introduced to the US market in 2005, only 10 percent were made in Israel
Israeli food manufacturers are not making the most of the kosher food industry in the United States, where sales of kosher food have been rising for the last couple of years.
Menachem Lubinsky, founder and president of Lubicom and founder of the kosher food festival in New York known as Kosherfest, said that of 2000 new kosher products introduced to the US market in 2005, only 10 percent were made in Israel.
Israeli food exports to the US totaled USD 125 million in 2005. Experts predict the figure to rise by 20 percent to USD 150 million in 2006.
US sales of kosher food reached USD 10 billion in 2005, marking a 10 percent increase from the previous year.
"18,000 of 32,000 US supermarkets sell kosher products, and the situation will improve, because families who consume kosher food spend about USD 20,000 a year on average, while other families spend USD 15,000-20,000 on average a year," Lubinsky said.
