First ship of kosher Lithuanian wheat unloaded in Israel

6 January. The first Lithuanian kosher grain ship is unloaded in Israel – 33,000 tonnes of wheat successfully reach Israeli shores. Lithuanian cooperation with Israeli entrepreneurs is expected to continue, with several ships of the new crop of kosher extra-grade wheat scheduled to sail to Israel this year. Karolis Šimas, Head of Agrokoncerno grūdai, says that the company has been preparing for the sale of wheat to Israel since the beginning of summer 2019. For wheat to be considered kosher, certain procedures had to be followed. Winter wheat may be recognised as kosher, but the requirements are that it must not come into contact with other cereals. This must be ensured and certified by a special Israeli service (eng. Office of Rabbi Landa). Before the spring wheat harvest even started, the winter wheat bins in the elevator were sealed in the presence of the Rabbi and a representative of Agrokoncerno grūdų. A few months later, before the ship was loaded, the Rabbi unsealed the tanks and supervised the 24-hour transport of the grain by car and rail to the seaport. It was also thoroughly checked at the port before the grain was loaded onto the ship. A total of 13 rabbis took part in the process, sealing and unsealing a total of 11 silos and port silos, as well as every wagon or car carrying grain. In order for Lithuanian grain to be certified as kosher, the elevator and seaport tanks, as well as the machinery that loads the grain, had to be very clean. Kosher grains cannot come into contact with other grains, so all the containers have been cleaned to ensure that not even the smallest grain from before remains. “It was a big challenge not only to ensure that the grain travelled smoothly from the fields to the ship, but also to organise the involvement of the rabbis overseeing the whole process – travel, accommodation, catering, etc. The guests from Israel did not speak English, Russian or other common languages, but our employees figured out a way to communicate smoothly and provide the services they needed – they used modern voice and text translation applications to communicate,” says the head of Agrokoncerno grūdai. According to him, this project is exceptional not only because of the highest requirements and a new market for Lithuanian grain, but also because of the opportunity for Lithuanians to get more closely acquainted with Israeli food culture and their requirements for food products.