Israeli potatoes - really?

As you may have noticed, due to the change of season here in the UK I have been a bit (OK, a lot) obsessed with local, seasonal produce recently. One of the great things about following a plant-based diet and writing this blog is that it instigates discussions and ideas sharing with other people. Only the other day I was talking to one of my friends about buying British. Like me, my friend tries to buy local whenever possible, although she does admit that pineapple is a weakness for her. With all the will in the world, I don't think we'll ever be able to grow descent pineapples here. My friend had noticed, however, that our local Co-operative is selling potatoes from Israel. Really?????? Although we may not have the most exotic choice of fruit and vegetables in the UK, the one thing we can grow really well and in abundance is potatoes. So why do we need to import them from Israel?