Jakarta,CNBC Indonesia – – Israel’s increasingly brutal attacks on Gaza have angered much of the world community. Apart from carrying out non-stop bombings which claimed many lives, Israel also cut off communication and internet services and blocked the entry of basic goods for Palestinians.
One form of anger among the world community over Israel’s cruel actions is calling for a boycott of products originating from and supporting Israel through the BDS Movement, or the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Israeli fruit and vegetables have also become targets of boycotts because many are grown on confiscated Palestinian land.
It should be noted that one of Israel’s world-famous agricultural products is dates. Even, Israel is one of the largest players in the global date market and is only one position behind Saudi Arabia in world date exports.
According to reports StatistaIsrael has a date export value of more than US$317 million in 2021.
Meanwhile, according to reports Israel Agri, the main buyers of dates from Israel are Italy, England, the United States, the Netherlands, Spain, France and Turkey. France is the largest importer of dates in the European Union with 29 percent.
Currently, Israel holds more than 60 percent of the global market share for one of the leading varieties, Medjoul dates. Therefore, it is not surprising that Israel is the largest exporter of Medjoul dates in the world.
For your information, Medjoul dates themselves are famous for their large fruit, with yellowish orange flesh, and rich taste.
According to the Tridge report, even though the world trade value of dates plummeted in 2020, Israel is still one of the world’s largest exporters of dates with a total value of US$236.34 million. This is because Israel is still a supplier of dates to large importing countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands, England and even the United States.
Israeli date palm plantations in Palestine
Launching from Al Jazeera, despite its success, the Israeli date industry is highly exploitative. In fact, around 40 percent of Israeli dates are currently grown on stolen land belonging to the Palestinian people. Apart from that, they also take water from Palestinian villages to irrigate date palm gardens.
Not only that, Israeli entrepreneurs also bring in low-paid Palestinian workers to do difficult jobs. In fact, Israeli farmers also employ Palestinian children.
As a result, the native Palestinian date industry is having difficulty competing with Israeli dates which are flooding local and international markets due to the pressure of military occupation.
[Gambas:Video CNBC]
Next Article
8 Famous Israeli Products That Were Boycotted and the Reasons
(hsy/hsy)