Israeli Gov’t Seeks To Boost Competition, Discourage Price Hikes on Consumer Goods

The Israeli government on Tuesday ordered a review of competition in the consumer goods market, in an effort to fight inflationary pressures as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 crisis. Inflation in Israel reached 2.8% in 2021 – its highest level in eight years but still below much of the West. Food prices, excluding fresh produce, rose 3.5%. Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy Minister Orna Barbivai on Monday asked the heads of seven leading companies to set aside planned price hikes. Food giant Osem, a unit of Nestlé, said it would delay until after the Passover holiday in the spring its plan to raise prices by 5% on average. The price hike was necessary, a spokesman for Osem said, due to increases in the costs of manufacturing and transportation. Strauss, another major food producer, and Sano, a maker of cleaner products, said they had no plans to raise prices. “I have referred this to the Price Committee, which will quickly examine the companies’ use of their market power to rake in excess profits,” Liberman warned. The committee regulates the prices of basic foods, such as milk, eggs, and bread, and can slap price controls on other products, as well.