Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, signed today (Monday) an order for a significant expansion of import quotas for hard and premium cheeses to Israel, as part of the fight against the high cost of living and the effort to increase competition in the food market.
Dairy products in Israel are about 50% more expensive than the OECD average, with hard cheese prices reaching twice the average.
In light of these gaps, the minister decided on a dramatic move to increase duty-free import quotas, with the aim of increasing competition and gradually lowering cheese prices for consumers.
According to the order signed by the minister, the duty-free quota will increase from 11,500 tons per year to 19,500 tons, an addition of 8,000 tons, which constitutes a 70% increase in the volume of duty-free imports. The increase in quotas will take effect immediately and will be valid for two years, with the Minister of Finance retaining the authority to extend the order according to market developments.
The order was signed concurrently with a broad reform promoted by the Ministry of Finance in the dairy sector, which aims to bring about price reductions in all dairy products, including soft cheeses and liquid milk, while maintaining significant local production. The reform includes broad protection for dairy farmers, a safety net for local production, and government investments in small and medium-sized dairy farms and dairies, with the aim of strengthening the industry alongside opening the market to competition.
The Israeli market is characterized by high concentration and significant competition barriers, which lead to Israeli families paying high prices for a limited variety of products.
Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich: “I have now taken another significant step in the fight against the high cost of living and dramatically expanded the opening of the hard cheese market to imports.
Duty-free yellow cheese costs NIS 32 per kilogram today, compared to the same cheese from monopolies that costs three times as much. Do you know why they sell it at three times the price? Because they can. Do you know why they can? Because until today, they limited the amount of imports and forced all of us to pay dearly. Now that’s over. It can be cheaper here.”
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