The heat waves of July and August made for early harvests of apples in the Golan and Galilee, where 95 percent of Israel's apples are grown. Director-General Amos Levin of Galilee Refrigeration in the Corporation for Development of the Galilee, who chairs the apple desk in the Israeli Plant Council, says the 125,000-ton crop represents a ten percent increase over 2009 and more than 50 percent growth from the 80,000 tons of 15 years ago. The industry has found a way to conserve water in the process.
About 90,000 tons will go into controlled cold storage in the North. Levin says the council wants to send about 15,000 tons to Syria and Gaza.