Israeli fruits not welcome, people in UAE prefer produce from Iran: Businessman
A businessman watching over trade between Iran and the United Arab Emirates says people in the Arab country kept their taste for Iranian fruits even after the market there was flooded with cheap Israeli produce.
Farshid Farzanegan said on Saturday that fruits and vegetables imported from the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territories have been on offer on cheap prices in the UAE since Israeli exports were allowed under a normalization pact with the Arab country in September.
However, Farzanegan said the Emirati people continue to prefer fresh Iranian fruits despite the fact that they are two to three times more expensive than the Israeli produce.
“(people) view the Iranian fruit as more natural and prefer its taste and aroma ... Israeli fruits have not been welcome in the UAE market even though their prices are very low,” the businessman told the ILNA news agency.
Similar reports in recent weeks have suggested that there are near-zero demand for Israeli goods and services in several Arab countries where governments have reached normalization pacts with the Tel Aviv regime.
Experts believe such normalization pacts which have come under pressure from the US would fail to impact growing popular sentiments against Israel.
Farzanegan said that Israeli exports into the UAE should not be a source of concern for Iranian businesses, adding that Iranian products would continue to have a strong presence in the Arab country.
Iran is a major exporter of farming products to the UAE with official figures showing the Arab country took delivery of $2.11 billion worth of Iranian products in the five months to late August, an increase of 5.1 percent year on year.
Iran’s agricultural exports to the UAE increased by 5.22 percent in volume terms over the same period despite restrictions imposed at borders to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
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