Israelis consume 15,000 tons of apples
Rosh Hashana apple and honey tradition leads to 50% increase this September from average consumption of fruit during rest of year
Israel's crop of apples is of a particularly high quality this year, according to Amos Levin, general manager of the Galilee Development Corporation and chairman of the apple division of Israel's Plants Production and Marketing Board.
Harvested from August through November, this year's apple crop according to Levin has been noted for its excellent size, color and taste. "This summer's relative cooler temperatures, especially at night, helped produce a higher quality of crop," he said.
Nearly all of Israel's apples - about 95% - are grown in the hills of the Galilee and the Golan, as apples require cooler weather to grow best. The apple orchards are located on hills that are 600 meters (1,970 feet) up or higher and cover 42,000 dunam (10,500 acres).
Over 100,000 tons of apples are sold in Israel each year, with the apple market valued at NIS 700 million ($194 million) annually, serving as the core for the local economy in the Golan Heights. In addition to the local production, about 7,000 tons of apples are imported into Israel from the United States and Europe.
While Israel exports little of its apples abroad, this year, the country exported 18,000 tons of apples grown by Druze farmers living in the Golan to Syria, in coordination with the Plants Production and Marketing Board, the IDF and the Red Cross.
The Druze apple growers of the Golan have been selling to Syria has for the past eight years but the apple exports were stopped in 2012 when the war situation became too volatile.
This year the apple industry also drew a number of university students from across Israel interested in learning more about agriculture and helping out Golan apple growers.
Sapir college student, Yotam Eyal told Tazpit News Agency that he and his friends have been picking apples for the past month.
“We are college students from all over Israel – from the Negev, Jerusalem, and the north, who are interested in learning more about agriculture and connecting to the land,” Eyal explained. “There are projects that have been initiated in the past year which get students involved in these areas.”
“It’s good to see where a fruit like an apple that you buy in the supermarket comes from,” commented Eyal. “Picking apples all day in the orchard is hard work. But it has made us appreciate dipping the apple in honey that much more this Rosh Hashana.”
Reprinted with permission from Tazpit News Agency
