When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
Israel

Palestinian Olives, A Middle East Parable Of Hard Times

Times of bounty
Times of bounty
Dani Rubinstein

TEL AVIV — Olive branches are a symbol of peace, but Palestinian olive production has become a sign of the economic troubles that come with Middle East conflict.

The approximately 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) of olive groves represent around 45% of Palestinian agriculture land, with most centered in the West Bank's mountainous territories. With more than eight million trees, olive production is the largest agricultural sector for the Palestinian Authority, supporting some 100,000 families and nearly half a million people in total.

With the olive harvest season's end approaching, data published last week by the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture is sufficient to show lack of growth in Palestinian agriculture and the Palestinian economy as a whole.

Beyond pure economics, the olive sector has a national and cultural value. It has long been a major ingredient in the daily life and folklore of rural families, as generations of Palestinians work the groves, shaking out the trees over large plastic sheets.

The biggest olives are kept for eating, while the rest are used for oil, delivered to olive presses spread from Hebron to the north of Samaria. At the same time, the by-product of olives (the waste remaining after the oil press) is used for heating. The oil is used for making soap, and the trees that no longer produce fruit are used for carving sculptures.

But even as the site of twisted branches are slowly disappearing, the demand for olive oil is growing annually. In Palestinian kitchens, it is used for cooking, frying and seasoning. The average consumption of olive oil is 3 kilograms per person annually.

Outdated techniques

This year was supposed to be a good year. The Ministry of Agriculture predicted around 17 to 18 tons of oil produced, but the result was a disappointing 13 tons. Israel, however, where there are fewer olive groves — some 300,000 hectares in total — produced 18 tons of oil. The explanation for the disparity lies mainly in the modernity of oversite in Israeli olive groves, and the fact that almost 50,000 hectares are irrigated, which reduces the number of olives lost in the process.

During successful years in the past, Palestinian farmers managed to sell up to seven tons of oil to Israel, Jordan and to Gulf countries. But with the low output this year, virtually all of the harvest will be used locally.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Economy

How A Xi Jinping Dinner In San Francisco May Have Sealed Mastercard's Arrival In China

The credit giant becomes only the second player after American Express to be allowed to set up a bank card-clearing RMB operation in mainland China.

Photo of a hand holding a phone displaying an Union Pay logo, with a Mastercard VISA logo in the background of the photo.

Mastercard has just been granted a bank card clearing license in China.

Liu Qianshan

-Analysis-

It appears that one of the biggest beneficiaries from Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to San Francisco was Mastercard.

The U.S. credit card giant has since secured eagerly anticipated approval to expand in China's massive financial sector, having finally obtained long sought approval from China's central bank and financial regulatory authorities to initiate a bank card business in China through its joint venture with its new Chinese partner.

For the latest news & views from every corner of the world, Worldcrunch Today is the only truly international newsletter. Sign up here.

Through a joint venture in China between Mastercard and China's NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, dubbed Mastercard NUCC, it has officially entered mainland China as an RMB currency clearing organization. It's only the second foreign business of its kind to do so following American Express in 2020.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the development is linked to Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting on Nov. 15 with U.S. President Joe Biden in San Francisco, part of a two-day visit that also included dinner that Xi had with U.S. business executives.

Keep reading...Show less

The latest