Jerusalem, 17 May, 2026 (TPS-IL) — Ahead of the Shavuot holiday that begins Thursday night, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security published dairy industry data for 2025. On Shavuot many people have the custom of eating only dairy for their holiday meals.
The average Israeli consumed about 157 liters of locally produced milk and its products in 2025.
Average yield per cow was about 12 thousand liters.
Average production per dairy farm is about 2.7 million liters.
Before Shavuot, there is a 63% increase in dairy product consumption.
In a strategic move to strengthen the dairy industry, last week the Knesset Economics Committee approved the dairy industry planning regulations promoted by The Ministry of Agriculture and FOOD SECURITY.
The Ministry noted that in recent years the dairy industry has been undergoing changes, some of which are related to processes occurring in Israel and some to global changes. Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, changes in the prices of imported feed grains, changes in the international prices of milk powders and industrial butter, and changes in exchange rates can be observed.
Prices of locally grown feed are changing due to the drought. And the local industry has been affected by climate change, which directly affects cow production (milk yields and fertility data decrease as the heat load increases, so global warming requires efforts and investments to cool and refrigerate the dairy farm and the cow to maintain milk production).