Sold a lemon: Gaza's citrus fruits no longer exported

At the peak of the Alrayes hilltop in eastern Gaza, Tayseer Omran, a long-time sub-contractor on citrus farmlands, is taking care of harvesting, packing and distributing oranges and mandarins for the local Gaza market.

Omran has eight workers, bent double in labour at the Monther Alraye farm, picking mandarins - a type of citrus fruit that has spread widely in the territory over the past decade.

"The landlord, Abu Elabed, is the one who takes care of farming, including irrigation, organic substances and chemicals," Tayseer Omran told The New Arab.

"But in case I want to further improve the quality of products, I invest extra funds in the whole rented farmland. Over the past couple of months, I have been taking care of citrus trees here, including lemons. Each ton of citrus costs me about $600-$700 to produce. And prices of citrus fruit for this season are less than last season."

The citrus farm has been here for decades, owner Monther Alrayes, said. During the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, he used to take care of his 70-acre farm himself, with the help of seasonal workers. During those periods, Alrayes used to export oranges and lemons to European and Arab countries.

Yet, with the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa Intifada in 2000 and the subsequent Israeli actions including border closures, he has been unable to export his produce for years and all of his production has gone instead to the domestic Gaza market.

In 2009 and 2014, about 14 acres of my farmland were razed by means of Israeli invasions, causing us financial losses of about $20 million to date

"In fact, things got worse over the past 15 years, as export has been hampered due to the frequent Israeli attacks on the region and the continued border closure," said Alrayes.

"In 2009 and 2014, about 14 acres of my farmland were razed by means of Israeli invasions, causing us financial losses of about $20 million to date. This situation has forced me to rent trees to someone like Tayseer Omran."

According to the Gaza-based agriculture ministry, citrus used to be exported in the tens of thousands of tons in the 1970s. Yet, with overpopulation, redistribution by local landlords of farmlands and increasing Israeli violence, including the blockade, production has decreased to only 37,000 tons, meeting just 80 percent of Gaza's needs for its two million residents. 

"Now, we in Gaza have again expanded our farm lands, producing mandarin and navel orange," the agriculture ministry's Tahseen Alsaqa told The New Arab. "We have now about 2,250 acres of such types of citrus. We in the ministry have made sure to protect local producers and enable them to make a living, by simply preventing the import of those types, either from Israel or from abroad."

Meanwhile, local groceries in Gaza complain that locals are buying less, due to what they believe are worsening economic conditions in the coastal territory. On Alnaser Street in Gaza City, Ramadan Shehada, the owner of the well-known Alnesma fruits store, said the price of citrus fruits are relatively high - but that almost 60 percent of his long-term customers come to buy citrus.

"We sell one kilo of mandarins for four shekels [just over $1]," he said.

Agriculture official Tahseen Alsaqa told The New Arab that citrus season in Gaza begins in early October, and runs through the end of February. He further noted the ministry allows the import some limited quantities from Israel, estimated in the hundreds of tons, once the local produce starts running out at the local market.

The ministry's records suggest that eight Gaza-based facilities for packing citrus for export purposes have been shut down over the past 18 years, and Gaza's production of citrus is now sold almost exclusively in the local market. Last year, Gaza was able to export only 1,500 tons of lemons to Jordan.

Over the past four years, economic conditions in Gaza have worsened due to the Israeli siege on the territory, as well as the continued internal political split between the ruling Hamas party of Gaza and the Fatah party of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank.

United Nations reports suggest that Gaza will be not be livable by 2020, unless urgent action is taken to improve the water supply, electricity, health and schooling.

"We look forward to concerned Palestinian bodies to help us develop citrus production across the territory," said farm owner Arayes. "Citrus was a main crop that was exported in large quantities."


Rami Almeghari is a Palestinian freelance journalist living and working in Gaza. 

Follow him on Twitter: @writeralmeghari