Gaza looking for imports as olive harvest slumps

As Palestinian farmers harvest their olive crop this season, they are met with frustration at the low yields

by Mohammed Asad

Some 40,650 dunums (40.65 square kilometres) of land is harvested with olive trees, Fadl Al-Jadba from the Ministry of Agriculture explains. However only 75 per cent of the land has fruit to be harvested, he continues, as a result, only 10,000 tonnes of olives are expected this year, compared to 17,000 tonnes last year and 23,000 tonnes in 2019.

The ministry is now working on a way to import olives from Egypt, Spain, or Syria to meet demand.

Though olives are eaten as an accompaniment to most meals in the Middle East, the fruits are also pressed to produce olive oil, used in cooking, as a salad dressing, or to make dips for staple dishes including manaqeesh.

READ: Israeli army uproots dozens of olive trees in West Bank

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