RAMALLAH, West Bank — Ahmed Suleiman, a Palestinian farmer from the town of Tell in the northern West Bank, waits all year for olive harvest season. He owns an olive grove, and when the time comes, he picks and presses olives and sends the oil to Qatar, where his son sells it. Suleiman’s olive oil production amounts to some 25 containers with a capacity of 14 kilograms each.

“Selling olive oil locally is not very rewarding. A container is sold here for between 250 and 300 shekels [$70-$80], while in Qatar it is double the price, between 500 and 600 shekels [$150-$160],” Suleiman told Al-Monitor. His son, who works as a teacher in a public school in Qatar, sells the olive oil directly to consumers, allowing Suleiman to increase his profit by limiting his expenses to shipping fees from Palestine to Qatar.

Suleiman is one of the rare, lucky Palestinian farmers in having a son abroad able to market his oil. The majority of farmers find themselves forced to sell their product at prices lower than those in foreign markets.

According to Palestinian Olive Oil Council Chairman Fayyad Fayyad, about 4,000 tons of local olive oil are sold annually in foreign markets through relatives, resulting in a good profit for farmers. Meanwhile, local market demand for olive oil amounts to between 10,000 and 12,000 tons a year. Average production totals 22,000 tons annually. Fayad told Al-Monitor that new markets need to be found to sell Palestinian oil at prices higher than the local market allows.