Some Israeli retail chains began limiting the purchase of milk and dairy products on Tuesday amid fears of a shortage due to the dairy farmers' protest against Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's dairy reforms.
According to industry sources, the combination of a halt in supply by dairy farmers and growing consumer demand is already being felt on the ground.
The Rami Levi supermarket chain reported shortages in branches in the north of the country, while Machsanei Hashuk and Carrefour have imposed a two-item limit on purchases. Among the affected products: Milk, cottage cheese, white cheese, and cream products.
Last week, several dairy production lines did not operate, creating a shortage of approxamatly 20%.
The protest against the reform was intensified when the dairy farmers closed the gates of their farms to trucks that arrived to collect milk. The large dairy companies initially estimated that their stocks would last until Sunday; however, the increased demand and the public panic have already led to purchase limits.
Supermarket chains estimate that by this evening, additional branches may run out of milk due to customers stocking up. Industry representatives say this is an extremely unusual step, involving significant financial losses for dairy farmers.
The dairy sector reform includes opening the market to imports and abolishing tariffs on a range of dairy products, lowering the “target price" per liter of milk paid to farmers by dairies, and increasing competition with large dairies from Europe. Farmers warn of harm to small-scale dairies, changes to production quotas, and repercussions for the economic stability of farms.
The Finance Minister warned yesterday that if farmers halt milk supplies, he will cancel tariffs on all dairy products in order to prevent shortages.