Israel’s largest supermarket chain, Shufersal, on Sunday announced the removal of some dairy products from its shelves in response to a decision by food giant Tnuva to hike prices ahead of the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

Shufersal said it will pull Piraeus cheese products and Yoplait fruit yogurt, for which there are substitutes from other manufacturers. The move comes after Tnuva refused to accept the supermarket chain’s request to postpone planned price hikes of four other dairy products until after the late-May holiday, which traditionally features dairy-heavy festive meals.

In the latest blow to consumers facing a rising cost of living, rival dairy and food producers, including Gad Dairies, Tara Dairies, and the Strauss Group, have also chosen to raise prices of some of their dairy products, starting in June after Shavuot.

The wave of price hikes comes as the price of state-controlled dairy products increased by an average of 1.05 percent as of May 1, as part of a periodic update that was spread over three years. Israel regulates the price of a number of key staples, including milk, soft white cheese, and basic bread.

“Rather than seizing the opportunity to lower prices and capture market share, competitors opted for the easy path of simply pushing prices upward, and so immediately after Tnuva’s announcement, Tara, Strauss, and Gad joined the price hike bandwagon,” said Linor Deutsch, CEO of grassroots Lobby 99.

The price increases come one year after dairy and food producers raised prices by up to 4.9%, and two years after raising prices by about 10% for dairy and other products.

Food and beverage prices in Israel are already 52% higher than the average among developed countries, second only to South Korea, according to comparative consumer price data by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The update of state-regulated dairy product prices gave........

© The Times of Israel