A Palestinian agricultural company named Harvest, for the first time in decades, has started to export shipments of strawberries from Gaza farms to the European markets.
Gaza farmers considered this an "unprecedented achievement" especially since Gaza farms has always been forced to export their products through the Israeli company Agrisco which used to have, before this time, a monopoly on all Palestinian agricultural exports.
The Palestinian company Harvest started last Sunday to export 30 percent of strawberry shipments from Gaza to European markets and the rest will be exported by three Israeli companies.
Harvest stated on Tuesday that it would be always keen on helping Gaza farmers to market their Palestinian products in international markets and this would as one of its main goals.
Harvest expressed hope that this experience would prompt Gaza agricultural unions and societies to choose it as the only company allowed to market Gaza agricultural exports in order to free Gaza farmers from the Israeli monopoly, exploitation and restrictions that cause them considerable losses.
For his part, Jamil Abu Hamaida, the deputy head of Gaza agricultural cooperative, said Harvest would export a large proportion of strawberries in cardboard boxes holding the name of Gaza Strip as a strawberry-producing area.
Israeli companies export strawberry shipments as Israeli products inside boxes read in Hebrew without any reference to any Palestinian area.
Hamaida also said this Palestinian company would start next month to export 50 percent of sweet pepper to European markets and the same percentage of cherry tomatoes.
The export of agricultural products holding the name of Palestine started to take place after the European parliament approved a law demanding Palestinian agricultural exports to Europe to be labeled from Palestine.
