World Grain - December 2006 - 22

countryfocus
plants. The second and third companies, Miloubar Feed and
Tadmir Feed, combine with Ambar to account for the majority of the 2.4 million tonnes of industrial feed production.
The remainder comes from numerous small feed mills at the
settlements.
Annual per capita poultry consumption of 38 kg, one of
the highest in the world, is the basis for a technologically advanced feed industry. The avian flu hit Israel in 2004, but the
reaction was swift with the culling of 1.3 million birds, or a
loss of just 2,000 tonnes out of total monthly broiler production of 40,000 tonnes.
Israeli equipment companies have been successful in exporting integrated feed and poultry plants on a turnkey basis to a number of countries in the former Soviet Union and
Africa.
Oilseed crushing is another sector dependent on imported raw materials. As with wheat, U.S. share of supply has
dropped significantly in recent years. Out of total estimated
soybean imports of 650,000 tonnes in 2006, U.S. shipments
will account for less than a quarter, despite a 90% share as late
as 2002. Soybean meal imports, mainly from Argentina, have
doubled to over 200,000 tonnes in just a few years' time.
The three soybean crushing companies are Solbar Indus-

tries, Shemen Industries, and Teth-Beth. Their combined annual crush is about 660,000 tonnes.
In addition to edible oils and soybean meal for feed, Solbar Industries has focused heavily on value-added products
like soy flour, soy proteins and soy isoflavones. The company
now exports 90% of its soy food production and has global
market share of about 5% for certain soy food categories.
The market within Israel has provided a good platform for
developing these product lines. Over 50% of the population
is said to regularly consume soy-based foods including meat
substitutes and soy milk.
Israeli society is both modern and traditional. Soybeans
used in feed and human food could be taken to symbolize
the modern, and wheat for bread the traditional. That nearly
all of its soybeans, wheat, and feed grains must be imported
more than symbolizes the sometimes precarious position of
WG
Israel in the world today.
David McKee is a grain industry consultant providing market research and
other services to companies seeking to initiate businessin new markets. He
can be reached by e-mail at davidmckee59@msn.com.
We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries to
worldgrain@sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles, e-mail reprints@sosland.com.

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World Grain - December 2006

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