Last week, a persimmon orchard was destroyed in Kibbutz Matzuva. Pomegranate trees were uprooted at Kibbutz Eilon. In both cases, it was not worthwhile continuing to grow the fruit, as warm weather and drought are threatening not only the winter fruit growers' profits, but also next summer's fruit.
Kibbutz Matzuva grows persimmons, bananas, avocados, pomegranates, lychees, and mangos. According to Johnny Agamia, a farmer on the kibbutz, "The fact that rain isn't falling is big trouble. The expenses are crazy. We're irrigating in November and December, which we haven't done before. Irrigation costs a lot of money. Secondly, we're irrigating with treated wastewater, and the rain purifies the land from salt. When there's no rain, surplus salt accumulates in the land, and that damages the trees. When things are right, rain falls and sweeps the land, ridding it of the salt – carries it downstream, which prevents salt from accumulating. The effect on the trees is bad for avocados, bananas, and the other fruits. In addition to all that, we don't know what will happen to the ground water reservoirs we need for next year. We're hanging by a thread with the reservoirs, and we don't know what's ahead. The water quotas for both treated wastewater and potable water have been used up, and we're paying a heavy load of fines. We would have saved all that had rain fallen."
While the farmers are being hit hard, consumers in Israel are expected to benefit in the short term from much lower prices for winter fruit, including avocados and bananas. In the longer term, however, in January and February, they can expect to pay the price for it. According to Agamia, "The price of avocados at the plantation gate has fallen because of excess supply caused by ripening two or three weeks earlier. That makes us pick them ahead of time, and there will be fewer in January and February, so the prices will go up.
