THE Department of Agriculture (DA) yesterday said it expects that fighting between Israeli forces and the fundamentalist Hamas will have little effect on food production in the Philippines.
DA Assistant Secretary for Operations Arnel de Mesa said the conflict would have “very little impact” on food supply.
Hamas launched an attack from the Gaza Strip on Saturday, Oct. 7, that has so far killed at least 800 Israelis and injured 2,600 more, the Israeli government said.
Israeli air strikes on Gaza targets have killed 687 people and wounded another 3,727, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
De Mesa noted that Israel, a long-time trade partner of the Philippines, has been importing desiccated coconut, pineapple juice and concentrates, and other mixtures from Filipino producers.
Total exports to Israel reached 3.441 million kilograms last year, he said, while 3.366 million kilograms of various agricultural commodities have been exported there from January to June.
Meanwhile, the Philippines imported $3.28 million worth of fertilizer from Israel in 2022, according to the DA.
Citing the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, the DA added that the country imported a total of 4,555 metric tons of muriate of potash from January to October this year.
De Mesa said he hopes that the conflict will be resolved soon as Israel “has been a long-time partner of the DA in various initiatives,” which include water management and fertilization. (ABS-CBN News/with a report from Agence France-Presse)
