Residents from many cities across the country on Friday shared photos of empty dairy shelves in convenience stores and supermarkets, alongside signs limiting the purchase of milk to just one unit per customer.
What began as localized shortages has become a broader phenomenon in recent days, with consumers reporting ongoing difficulty in obtaining basic milk. Some families claim the shortage has forced them to visit multiple stores or reduce consumption.
Speaking in an interview with Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich shared that in recent weeks, he has been receiving dozens of similar complaints daily. According to him, the problem stems from the centralized structure of Israel’s dairy market - "the distorted way in which the dairy market is managed in Israel."
Smotrich also declared that he is determined to promote the dairy reform, aimed at opening the market to competition, and argued that those opposing it are serving the interests of monopolies.
Sharing a picture from a grocery store in his settlement, Kedumim, which showed a notice about per-customer limits, he added that this is an "unacceptable reality in an advanced country."
"Now at our grocery store in Kedumim," he wrote in a post he shared on social media. "In recent weeks, I have received dozens of such complaints daily. This is an unacceptable reality in an advanced country like Israel, and it stems directly from the distorted way in which the dairy sector operates."
"I am determined to fix this and, with G-d’s help, pass the dairy reform. Anyone who opposes it works for the monopolies and acts against the citizens of Israel, and I do not intend to give in to them. There could be plenty of milk here, it could be cheap here," he concluded.