More than 6,000 tonnes of apples from the Golan Heights have been exported to Syria this season, according to Giora Sella, secretary of the Israel Fruit Growers Association.

Sella said that the export volume of fruit which crossed the border so far to Syria, all grown by Druze growers in the Golan Heights, "is only half of the volume planned to be shipped this season. High yields of fruits resulted in surpluses and after long negotiations Syria approved the export." He added that parts of the shipments were sold on Syria's local market and sizeable quantities were re-routed to United Arab Emirates, according to trade agreements between Syria and other Arab countries.

Trade sources in Tel Aviv commented that the precedence of exporting fresh produce from Israel to a neighbouring Arab country "serves as an important tool in the current efforts to normalise relations among the nations in the region."

According to responses from Syrian traders, the Golan apples fetched high prices on the markets in Syria and on other Arab markets, due to the high quality of the produce. The sources added that through a third party, negotiations are underway now to export next season a wide range of fresh produce from Israel to several neighbouring Arab countries.

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