Revival of strawberry exports from Gaza to Europe

On Sunday, Gaza started exporting strawberries to Europe that it is hoped will herald a wider expansion of trade, reported the Daily Star.

“Strawberries. Fraises. Erdbeeren.” said the labels in English, French and German on stacks of boxes of tenderly packed berries in punnets of 250 grams. The Gaza farmers hope to send 1,000 tonnes to Europe through a partly eased Israeli blockade in the coming week.

“Today, we are exporting two truckloads of strawberries as a trial and then the number will rise to 10 trucks a day until they are all shipped out,” said Raed Fattouh, Palestinian coordinator of supply from Israel to Gaza.

Ahmad al-Shafai, one of the biggest farm entrepreneurs in the small enclave framed by Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean, said the Palestinian produce would first arrive in the Netherlands and then go on to Belgium and France.

“We are ready. Our products meet the standards of Global Gap,” he said. The Global Gap Project aims to improve farmers’ ability to grow produce according to international standards.

Israel has blockaded the Gaza Strip since 2007 to cripple the Islamist movement Hamas, which seized control of the territory three years ago from the Palestinian Authority (PA) of President Mahmoud Abbas.

This is not the first time Israel has permitted exports of Palestinian strawberries and flowers from Gaza.

However, it coincides with the enlargement of a logistics hub at the Kerem Shalom crossing point in the south, for what Gaza business hopes will be a revival of wider trade next year.

To begin with, Israel, the PA and the European Union agreed to deploy PA staff at Kerem Shalom. Hamas is left out of the equation but tacitly permits it.

An Israeli official said that Kerem Shalom’s capacity would double to 300 trucks a day by the end of this year and to 400 in 2011.

“We will have the capacity,” he said.

But security arrangements were paramount for Israel and it was too soon to speak of a change in policy.

“Only after we resolve this can we start talking about [a wide range of] exports,” he said.
(Source:www.cargonewsasia.com)