For the third year, war deprives Gaza residents of olive season and raises prices

For the third consecutive year, the Israeli war has deprived Gaza Strip residents of the olive harvest season, with vast areas of agricultural land destroyed. The area of land planted with olives has dropped from 50,000 dunams to about 5,000, and the number of trees from two million to 150,000. Prices of olives and olive oil have risen sharply, with a pound of green olives reaching 40 shekels and a tin of oil reaching 1,000 shekels.

For the third consecutive year, Gaza Strip residents are deprived of the olive harvest season, as vast areas of agricultural land are destroyed and the olive sector is damaged by the Israeli war on the Strip. According to data published by the Government Media Office in Gaza, the area of land planted with olives has dropped from about 50,000 dunams to only about 5,000 dunams, a decrease of up to 90%, while the number of olive trees has dropped from about two million to about 150,000. This comes as thousands of farmers face difficulty accessing their remaining lands, due to the occupation's control over large areas of the Strip, and more than 92% of agricultural land has been damaged by shelling and bulldozing. The decline in production has led to a sharp rise in the prices of olives and olive oil, with the price of a pound (3 kg) of green olives for pickling reaching about 40 shekels, compared to no more than 10 shekels before the war. The price of a pound of black olives has also risen to about 60 shekels, while the price of a 20-liter tin of olive oil has exceeded 1,000 shekels, compared to about $100 before the war. The remaining areas for olive cultivation are confined to limited areas in the central Strip. Data indicate that olive fruit production has dropped from about 40,000 tons annually to only about 5,000 tons, while olive oil production has dropped from about 5,000 tons to about 700 tons. The number of olive presses has also dropped from about 40 to only 7, and the number of factories linked to the sector has dropped from 14 to 3, while the number of farmers linked to the sector has shrunk from about 20,000 to about 1,000. The number of workers in the olive sector has also dropped from about 3,000 to about 200.