400 tons of duty-free honey from WTO countries will be imported for Rosh Hashanah

As in previous years, the volume of the quota for each participant will depend on the price at which it undertakes to sell honey: the lower the price offered, the larger the quota the importer or distribution network will receive. The winner of the competition will be able to import up to 20% of the total quota volume (80 tons), the remaining quotas will be distributed among other winners in the amount of 15%, 10% and 5% depending on their place in the ranking.

Imported honey will be sold in packages of up to 1.5 kg. On store shelves it should be accompanied by clearly visible price information.

Last year, six companies won a similar competition: the Victory, Carrefour, Yohananof, Rami Levi and Osher Ad retail chains, as well as the importer Totseret Haklait Muvheret, which supplies honey to the Hatsi Hinam chain. In total, 400 tons of honey were sold under this program at an average price of 18.7 shekels per kilogram. Depending on the size of the package, the retail price ranged from 8.9 to 19.9 shekels per kilogram. The Ministry of Agriculture expects that this year, too, an increase in supply will help reduce prices before the holidays.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, annual honey consumption in Israel is about 6,500 tons, with demand peaking during the autumn holidays and winter months. On average, an Israeli consumes about 700 grams of honey per year, while in European countries this figure reaches about 1.5 kg.

The retail honey market in Israel is valued at approximately NIS 100 million per year and is highly concentrated. About 80% of packaged honey sold in the country comes from the Yad Mordechai brand of the Strauss group, whose share ranges from 40% to 56%, and in some periods exceeds 60% of the market. According to Dun & Bradstreet, about 20% of the market belongs to the Emek Hefer apiary, about 10% to the Ein Harod apiary, and the rest is distributed among small producers.