The Israeli government approved this week the Minister of Agriculture Shalom Simhon's request to increase the number of foreign workers in the agricultural sector by 3,000.
The addition will bring the total number of foreign workers, most of them from Thailand, to 29,000.
Representatives of agricultural organisations, led by the Israel Federation of Farmers, welcomed the government decision and noted that additional workers will generate "a significant development of the farming sector, will result in increasing the export volume and enable farmers to prepare long-term production plans, without the fear that the crops would remain in the field, as it happened in the past."
Chaim Hadad, in charge of foreign workers at the Israel Federation of Farmers, commented that the additional foreign employees will create "hundreds of new jobs for Israelis in agro-industries, especially in the peripheral areas, and will increase production of local inputs."
He added that the recent increase in prices of fruit and vegetables on the local market stems from the shortage of manpower, "but with the arrival of the additional workers, prices will significantly go down."
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