The demand for sweet potatoes has picked up drastically across Israel, the West Bank as well as in Gaza during this wet and cold winter. Guy David, Head of Israel's Sweet Potato Industry Association, says "Winter demand is going well. So far it looks good with mostly colored sweet potatoes that are in demand."
He says the local market has taken well to the yellow and red sweet potato varieties. "It looks like we have a breakthrough, we are into a new phase, and people are looking for different colors of sweet potatoes. Talking of colors, we have also added the yellow sticker on our sweet potatoes in solidarity with the Israeli hostages held in Gaza, we hope they are returned soon," explains David.
He says this is causing them to expand the plantings of sweet potatoes in Israel to keep up with the rapidly growing demand and avoid any possible shortages. He is also in charge of marketing for their family farm David's Fruit, which was started by his late father Itay David. His mother Michelle David is the owner of the business with his brother, Idan David who manages the field, where they grow mainly sweet potatoes and other vegetables.
"At the moment it looks like there might be a bit of a shortage of sweet potatoes in Israel. Therefore, we are planting new fields under plastic covers. We are trying to do it as fast as possible to prevent shortages," states David.
International aid agencies are also buying sweet potatoes and other produce on the wholesale markets to supply to the West Bank and Gaza, which further increases the demand.
For more information:
Guy David
David's Fruit
Tel: +972 545833353
Email: [email protected]