June 9, 2013, Updated June 10, 2013


Israel’s Old MacDonald had a farm, and it turns out his carrots are a huge hit in Russia. The Israeli vegetable company called Dod Moshe, for Uncle Moses, is the name for the Israeli children’s song equivalent to Old MacDonald.

The Israeli carrots have become a huge hit in Russia, mainly for their size, reports the company: Uncle Moses carrots now play a starring role around Moscow markets, selling for about 70 rubles a bag. The cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are particularly crazy about the brand. 

While the company suggested changing their name on the bag to English or Russian letters, the markets asked for the exotic looking Hebrew letters to stay on the bags, unchanged. 

Nuki Neufeld, the director of marketing for the Uncle Moses brand says that 90 percent of the company’s carrot exports are going to Russia. Normally, he notes, the company changes the packaging to meet the market. But not in this case.

Israel enjoys a healthy volume of sales to the Russian market. About 11 million USD annually of carrots and radishes, thanks to increased sales and marketing efforts, and Israel’s advantageous climate.

Grown in the western Negev desert, Israel is able to supply Russia medium-sized carrots, the way they like them, in winter months when they can’t be grown in Russia.

Worldwide, Israel exports more than $2 billion USD worth of produce, and along with regular, and fresh shipments comes some of the best looking, and tasting produce you will find. Much of it has been bred to be pest resistant, naturally, meaning it was grown with fewer chemicals, and it has also been bred to store well on the supermarket shelves and in your fridge.

Israel is keen on improving agriculture, locally and globally. Read our story on Israel’s top 12 ways it feeds the world.

And it’s not just about the tried, trusted and true: Israel is also using traditional breeding techniques to make unusual, but especially tasty fruit and vegetable hybrids like like the Alpha cucumbers and the Orangetti spaghetti squash.

Lastly, for those curious to learn a little more Hebrew, here is the Hebrew version of Old MacDonald in Hebrew:

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