The price of tomatoes has doubled, which the Israel Farmers Union attributes to Operation Pillar of Cloud. Farmers Union president Dov Amitai says that the wholesale price of tomatoes is now over NIS 6 per kilogram, compared with NIS 3 per kilogram in early November.
Amitai says that the higher prices for tomatoes was due to the difficulty kibbutzim and moshavim in the south had in working their fields and reaping their crops during the military operation against Gaza. "The fields were under fire, and farmers were forced to neglect them. Most of the crop was lost," he said.
The Farmers Union says that tomatoes are the first crop for which prices have gone up, because farms in the Eshkol Regional Council, which borders the Gaza Strip, produce 70% of the country's crop. Amitai says that the tomato shortage will worsen and prices will rise further.
The Farmers Union also expects prices for peppers, turnips, potatoes, and cucumbers to rise. "The ceasefire may result in extensive operations by farmers in the south to utilize land near the Gaza border and increase the harvest," says Amitai. "This will lower prices in the future, but at the moment, damage to farmers by the fighting will indirectly affect consumers because of the extensive damage to crops."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 25, 2012
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