ISRAEL

Feedback from the Trade on Their Plans and Interest in the USA Pear Season:

This year, there are signs of intermittency in the pear orchards in Israel, so the initial estimate is that the pear harvest will be about 22,000 tons, a smaller quantity than last year, when the harvest was about 28,000 tons, but the fruit this season is exquisite, beautiful, and especially delicious. Pears are an important import product, arriving in Israel in 2023-4 in a quantity of 8,520 tons. The imported pear has a slightly different skin texture than the Israeli pear, thicker. Most of the imported pears come from Argentina (2,835 tons) and Turkey (2,631 tons). The rest are imported from Greece, the USA, Spain, Italy and France.

Expectations for Any Freight or Logistics Challenges:

As of now we have not had the opportunity to encounter any specific issue. The first import is expected around December 20th.

Opportunities in Your Market for Specific Varieties, Sizes, and Grades:

The Israeli market expects pears from the US, which are rightly considered the best on the market. Since the local harvest is small, larger imports are expected to supply the approximately 35K tons that Israel consumes. The ideal size is between 100 and 80. The most desirable variety is Red Anjou.

Update on the Competition in the Market:

The first competitor is the local crop, which starts with the small, yellow Coscia pears and continues throughout the season with the Spadona pears. There are imports from Greece, Italy, Spain and France. The massive imports from Turkey are blocked due to political circumstances.

Political or Economic Issues Impacting Imports, Retail, or Consumer Behavior:

The main problems that the Israeli market is facing are the high prices of pears in the US, along with problems with shipping. Only one shipping company, MSC, visits ports in the western US and reaches ports in Israel. It should also be taken into account that as long as the Bab el-Mandab Straits are dangerous for transit due to terrorism, the solutions are either to circumnavigate Africa or to pass through the Panama Canal. This situation significantly increases the price of transportation.

Other Brief Comments:

According to pear importers from the US, we are currently expecting to import about 30 containers of pears in the 2024-2025 season, mostly Red Anjou.