Israel’s agricultural produce companies nurtured 65 new species of pepper in 2010. Some of the new species will be reach our plates in the coming year, while others were presented in a major agricultural exhibition in the Arava region on Tu B’Shvat.

According to the Yair Experimental Station in the Arava, the new species include yellow pepper with vitamins and red pepper resembling a tomato.

According to the growers, the new species are of high quality, are immune to viruses, and are outstanding in the amount of crop and their export potential, while meeting the strict demands of the European Union.

Eilon Gadiel, director of the Central and Northern Arava R&D station, says the pepper species being grown in the Arava are very popular in global markets, and are packed and sent on a daily basis to luxurious markets abroad via cargo flights and special chilled ships.

The advantage of the Arava agricultural produce is that it can be marketed worldwide particularly during the winter, when they are not grown abroad.

The pepper production areas in the Arava region are constantly growing, constituting 60% of all growing areas in the central Arava and northern Dead Sea region.

(Source: Ynet)