23 percent rise in citrus export
צילום: עלאא שלבייה
Israeli citrus export on the rise
Some 173,000 tons of Israeli citrus fruits exported by Israel in 2007, marking 23 percent rise. New customers include China, Japan
Israel's citrus season closed with a 23 percent rise in exports at 173,500 tons this year, Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Despite strong competition from Spain, Morocco and Turkey, Israeli farmers have been able to take advantage of the cold spell that fell on the California orchards and expand activity.
The expansion has enabled Israeli citrus fruits to infiltrate the Chinese market for the first time ever, exporting some 20 tons of citrus fruits.
In 2007, Israeli oranges also returned to the Japanese market, after 25 years of absence, and 6,000 tons of oranges made their way to Japanese stores.
Tal Amit, head of the Citrus Marketing Board of Israel, said, "Opening the Chinese market to Israeli exports gives the farmers a channel of export with tremendous potential, and if we are able to do our job well, we can reach export of 200,000 tons in the near future."
