In response to December's damaging storms, the Israeli government has agreed on a temporary decrease in customs duties on imported fruit, including apples and pears from East Asia and North America, in addition to cucumbers, tomatoes and courgettes from Jordan.
Last month's inclement weather brought losses to fruit and vegetable crops, leading to a steep rise in prices, with tomatoes up from ILS2.50 (€0.52) to ILS7 (€1.47) and courgettes up from ILS2 (€0.42) to ILS8.2 (€1.72).
All duties on imported courgettes, aubergines and lettuce are being lifted until the end of February, according to the Jerusalem Post. Duties are also being scrapped for 3,000 tonnes of tomatoes and 1,500 tonnes of cucumbers until at least the end of March.
Form the beginning of March, the government will reportedly abolish duties on apples and pears for the entire year, while restricting quotas to 8,000 tonnes of apples and 3,000 tonnes of pears.
'This is another step toward reducing the cost of living,' said finance minister Yair Lapid. 'The decision to reduce the duties on crops that were damaged in the storm is aimed first and foremost at savings on consumer spending.'
Growers are also expecting to receive compensation for losses, but may have to wait some time. Farmers affected by severe snow storms in 1991/92 are still waiting to receive full payment, with a further ILS50m (€10.5m) being earmarked for growers, according to the Fruit Growers Association.
