Direct Support for Olive Tree Growers Amounting to NIS 40 Million in 2024
As part of the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to support olive tree growers in Israel and to bolster local olive oil production, the Ministry will provide direct support of approximately NIS 40 million to growers of olive trees for oil.
Direct Support for Olive Tree Growers
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security is acting to support the olive industry in Israel and to help local growers deal with the reduction of customs duties on olive oil and will provide direct support to growers in the industry as early as this year (2024), to provide them with certainty that will ensure the continuation of local olive oil production.
As a reminder, the duty on the import of olive oil to Israel was reduced by 90% during 2023 and the support is part of the arrangement of moving from indirect to direct support. Therefore, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security will invest NIS 30 million in direct support to growers in 2024, and another NIS 10 million for 2023 during which the customs duty was reduced. The total support in 2024 will be approximately NIS 40 million.
The direct support for the growers will be distributed to growers of olive trees for oil according to the growing technology (dryland and irrigated) and according to the criteria established by the Ministry. In the past year, the world harvest of olives decreased, which led to an increase in olive oil prices. Hence, support at this time is extremely important to preserve local production.
Yossi Steinberg, Deputy Director General of Finance and Investments at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, stated: “In light of the global challenges in the olive industry, the olive oil industry in Israel must be bolstered. Olive oil is one of the most important ingredients in the Israeli diet, so the Ministry is currently formulating a policy that will include investment in new technologies to lower production and cultivation costs, support for research and development, to improve the efficiency of varieties and cultivation methods and promote international collaborations to bring knowledge and innovation from the world to Israel. These actions will allow Israel not only to improve production efficiency and reduce production costs but also to ensure the country’s food security in the field of olive oil.”
