Bread was in drastically low supply throughout the country today, as a dispute over the cost of flour reached Israel\'s grocery stores. Trade and Industry Minister Dalia Itzik will meet tonight with the flourmill owners in an attempt to reach an agreement. Even if the strike were to end today, regular bread deliveries will only resume towards the middle of the week. Yoram Degani of the Kindness Organization \"Chasdei Sarah\" in Maaleh Adumim, which distributes bread and other staples to needy families every day, told Arutz-7 today, \"It\'s a terrible feeling to know that when I come to the grocery to pick up bread to feed these families, there\'s nothing there for me to bring them.\"
Danny Angel of Angel\'s Bakeries in Jerusalem said that not since the days of the siege on Jerusalem during the War of Independence in 1948 has the bakery been in such a situation. Baruch Turgeman, owner of several flour mills in Israel, told Arutz-7 today that the last price-adjustment for flour was in Nov. 2000 - and that the gap between his government-ordered sell price and his production price has now reached 30%. \"A combination of the rise in the dollar, interest rates, electricity and especially in wheat,\" he said, \"has contributed to the severity of the problem we are now facing. We simply can\'t continue to produce flour and pile up these losses.\"
Minister of Industry and Trader Dalia Itzik, who was to meet with the flour-millers this afternoon, said that she understands their problems, but that she must make sure that the price of bread does not rise significantly: \"I have to find a formula that will enable the producers to live and make a profit, but at the same time [worry about] the 15% of the population that is very dependent on bread - I have seen with my own eyes how some families buy nine or ten loaves every single day...\" The government-supervised (not subsidized) price of a loaf of simple bread and challah for Shabbat currently stands at 2.6-2.75 shekels (around 55 to 60 cents).
Danny Angel of Angel\'s Bakeries in Jerusalem said that not since the days of the siege on Jerusalem during the War of Independence in 1948 has the bakery been in such a situation. Baruch Turgeman, owner of several flour mills in Israel, told Arutz-7 today that the last price-adjustment for flour was in Nov. 2000 - and that the gap between his government-ordered sell price and his production price has now reached 30%. \"A combination of the rise in the dollar, interest rates, electricity and especially in wheat,\" he said, \"has contributed to the severity of the problem we are now facing. We simply can\'t continue to produce flour and pile up these losses.\"
Minister of Industry and Trader Dalia Itzik, who was to meet with the flour-millers this afternoon, said that she understands their problems, but that she must make sure that the price of bread does not rise significantly: \"I have to find a formula that will enable the producers to live and make a profit, but at the same time [worry about] the 15% of the population that is very dependent on bread - I have seen with my own eyes how some families buy nine or ten loaves every single day...\" The government-supervised (not subsidized) price of a loaf of simple bread and challah for Shabbat currently stands at 2.6-2.75 shekels (around 55 to 60 cents).