VZCZCXRO7833
RR RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDIR RUEHKUK
DE RUEHTV #0798 0921520
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 021520Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEL AVIV
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1299
INFO RUCNIRA/IRAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 6048
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 3792
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS TEL AVIV 000798 
 
SIPDIS 
 
TREASURY FOR SAHERN AND DMOGER 
STATE PLS PASS USTR FOR SFRANCESKI 
CAIRO FOR FOREIGN AGRICULTURE SERVICE CIGLESIAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ETRD PTER IR TU IS
SUBJECT: ISRAEL LEVELS THE PLAYING FIELD FOR U.S. PISTACHIO 
EXPORTERS 
 
¶1.  Israel announced on March 30 that it was imposing tariff 
of 23 percent on pistachio imports, except for a duty-free 
quota of 100 tons of Turkish pistachios under the 
Israel-Turkey trade agreement.  "Turkish" pistachios above 
the 100-ton quota are widely believed to be of Iranian 
origin.  Smuggling of Iranian pistachios via Turkey has been 
a problem for U.S. exporters for more than 15 years, crowding 
them out of a significant export market.  Israel is one of 
the world's largest per capita consumers of pistachios. 
While Israel's import data on pistachios from Turkey has 
never matched Turkish government export statistics, the GOI 
had found it difficult to block the illegal trade due to 
political sensitivities and lack of conclusive scientific 
proof that the pistachios entering Israel were of Iranian 
origin.   The quota restriction and tariff imposition is 
expected to make the Iranian nuts more expensive, making the 
higher quality U.S. product much more attractive to the 
Israeli consumer.  A major U.S. pistachio company is already 
mapping out a large marketing campaign to take advantage of 
this new opportunity. 
 
¶2.  COMMENT:  The push to impose a quota on Turkish 
pistachios and increase the duty was a direct result of USG 
engagement with the GOI on behalf of American growers and 
exporters.  While the new rules may not stop the flow of 
Iranian product completely it will reduce it substantially. 
The GOI intends to raise the smuggling issue with their 
Turkish counterparts at the annual bilateral trade meeting in 
June.  In any case, the duty increase is a valuable first 
step toward ending this long-standing bilateral trade 
irritant. 
 
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Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv 
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CUNNINGHAM