It appears that the unprecedented high prices for summer fruits in Israel are likely to continue climbing as last week’s sharav heat-wave took its toll on crops, with the Kent Insurance Company covering farmers reporting nationwide damage to the tune of NIS 7 million in lost crops.

In the southern region, 1,000 dunam (250 acres) of eating grapes were destroyed along with an additional 1,000 dunams of wine grapes in the Mazkeret Batya and Beit Shemesh areas. 1,000 dunams of watermelons were lost too. Hundreds of dunams of watermelons and melons were destroyed in the north along with hundreds of dunams of tomatoes intended for Beit Shean Valley and Jezreel Valley industry. Hundreds of dunams of corn was lost in the north as well, as well as hundreds of dunams of wine and eating grapes in the center of the country.

Officials already report that the price of summer fruits generally go down in July and August, but this will not be the case this year with peaches, nectarines and grapes selling in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda for NIS 15 a kilo and upwards, reaching in the low NIS 20s for the higher-end items.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)