In honor of Rosh Hashanah, the Agriculture Ministry has released a report of consumption data for foods that are popular in Israel during the holiday, showing how consumption rises leading up to the High Holy Days.
Fish
On average, each person in Israel consumes 345 grams of fish, while in the week leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the amount goes up to 563 grams per person, a rise of 63% compared to the rest of the year.
The most popular kind of fish leading up to Rosh Hashanah is tilapia, whose sales comprise 37% of all fish sold in the week prior to the holiday. Salmon follows close behind at 35%, while Dennis and carp share the third and fourth spots way behind at 4% each. The least-sold fish is the princess of the Nile, which makes up only 3% of fish sold.
Meat
The data shows that the average Israeli consumes about 18.1 kilos of beef in a year. In the week leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the consumption of beef rises by 82%.
According to the OECD, the local consumption of beef in Israel places fourth in the world after Argentina (36.9 kilos), the US (26.2) and Brazil (24.4).
Chicken
The Israeli consumption of chicken stands in first place compared to the rest of the world, with the average person consuming 64.4 kilos of chicken per year.
During the lead-up to Rosh Hashanah, the consumption of chicken goes up by 40%.
Pomegranates
The data from the Agriculture Ministry shows that the pomegranate crop for the 2021/2022 season will yield 45,000 tons, which is more than 28% more than the previous season where the crop yielded 35,000 tons.
For many years, pomegranates were only grown to be sold whole especially for the New Year, but advances in the pomegranate industry gave the fruit new life. The accessibility of seeds ready to eat gave way to the production of pomegranate-based juices, alcohol, yogurt products, ice cream, oil, cosmetics and more.
Leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the sale of pomegranates rises significantly. While the average Israeli consumes 6.1 kilos of pomegranates in a year, around Rosh Hashanah the rates stand at 7.1 kilos per person.