Factors that hinder Palestinian capacity to offer competative pricing of olive oil on the world market:
heather on July 14th, 2005A statement from the Director of Canaan Fair Trade, Palestine.
1- Traditional organic non-irrigated farming. The average Palestinian orchard yield is less than that of irrigated modernized farming or non-irrigated farming in northern Mediterranean countries that gets higher levels of rain. Farmers need higher return on products to support their families because of the smaller yield.
2- Local restriction of movement imposed by the Israeli occupation makes cost involved in collecting oil and other related local deliveries extremely high for oil traders.
3- The high cost Palestinian companies and organizations face doing business internationally directly without Israeli middleman. For example Canaan Fair Trade (CFT) paid over US$9,500 to release a container of empty bottle at the Haifa port coming from Italy. Only $2500 of which were Sea Freight and ground shipping.
4- The High cost of PA bureaucracy. Certificate of origin from Chamber of Commerce requires 4% of invoice, Ministry of Agriculture requires a high percentage of units tested from total units invoiced each test cost 20NIS. The Environmental Health require their own testing and their tests (which are the same) cost 100NIS each.
5- Fair Trade needs to afford to pay fair wages to people working on the ground in a fluctuating business environment (by the we are not anywhere near that yet. But we do hope to get there. The only full time employees we are affording to keep are two. The rest are casual workers when we have orders, and I or other Palestine Fair Trade Association (PFTA) officers do not take any compensation)
6- Non-supported Palestinian farmer in competition with mostly subsidized industry in Europe and the States.
7- Above all of this is produced by CFT competes even on price if compared to similar quality oils.
