30 million flowers meant for the European market for Christmas were left in Israel due to shortage of workers to harvest them

As reported in the Jerusalem Post:

"Thirty million flowers that were supposed to reach the European market in time for Christmas remained in Israel due to a shortage of workers to harvest the plants, Israel’s Flower Growers Association announced on Wednesday.

The failure to transfer all the expected flower supplies to Europe is causing Israel to continue to lose its place in the European market – a sector that the country once dominated, the association lamented.

While Kenya and Ethiopia have been occupying chunks of the market for some time now, a brand new competitor entered this holiday season: Costa Rica. The Central American nation, which formerly limited its flower sales largely to US markets, was able to provide the European sector with green ornamental branches for Christmas that were once considered an Israeli specialty, the association said." more...