As consumers worldwide are becoming more health-conscious, the bio-organic
market is one of the fastest-growing food sectors. Israeli farmers are
turning into some of the world's leading suppliers of top quality
bio-organically grown fruit and vegetables.
by Simon Griver
Israeli farmers are increasingly switching to bio-organic agriculture.
This not only produces healthier products and a cleaner environment, but
also make economic sense, since organically nurtured fruits and vegetables
fetch premium prices.
In 1996 alone Israeli farmers exported 10,100 tons of organically grown
fresh fruit and vegetables for more than $13 million. This was a 20%
increase over 1995 and the forecast is that exports will rise an
additional 20% in 1997. This figure includes 2,100 tons of citrus fruit,
mainly oranges and grapefruit; 6,500 tons of vegetables, principally
carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, celery and peppers; and 1,500 tons of fruit,
especially avocados and bananas.
This produce is marketed by Agrexco, Israel's national fruit and vegetable
exporter, under the brand name Carmel Bio-Top. According to Eitan Kurant,
manager of Agrexco's organic products marketing department, most of the
produce was purchased in Germany, France, Britain and Scandinavia, where
there is a huge and rapidly growing demand for organically grown
products.
"Bio-Top is most popular," he explains, "in industrialized countries where
green awareness is at its highest. For this reason the American market has
also begun to buy our organically grown products, especially winter-grown
cherry tomatoes and peppers."
Organic farming was introduced into Israel in 1982 by Mario Levy from
Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu in the Jordan Valley. He founded the Israel
Bio-Organic Agricultural Association (IBOAA), which today has 400 members,
mainly in kibbutz collectives and moshav cooperative settlements. The
IBOAA makes regular field inspections and enforces international
standards, such as the requirements for export demanded by the European
Union.
Under these regulations, fields must be left fallow for three years before
they can be used for organic crops. Pesticides and herbicides are strictly
prohibited and, in addition, neighboring fields that do use such
substances must be at least 30 meters distant, or a minimum of 250 meters
away if the crops are sprayed by aircraft.
Yossi Gold, a farmer on Kibbutz Meirav in Israel's Galilee region who
grows carrots organically, explains that while such
environmentally-friendly produce fetches about one and a half times the
price of regular crops, raising it involves double the work.
"There is a constant chore of weeding by hand," he says, 'because
herbicides are not used, and we must be very vigilant about pests too. But
it's worth the effort."
In addition to Carmel's Bio-Top exports, over a thousand tons of
organically grown dates are exported by the Date Marketing Board, while
processed food products made from organically grown crops, such as date
spread, chickpea paste (humus) and banana powder, are also exported.
Israeli farmers are also finding a growing domestic market, with 10% of
Israeli households purchasing some organically grown products.
"Too many farmers," insists Mario Levy, "are polluting the ground and air
that provides them with their livelihood and life."