Some supermarket chains announced on Wednesday that they will raise the prices
of hundreds of their products in November.
The biggest of these, Shufersal Ltd., said in a statement that the prices of thousands of products
will rise by 4 percent on average.
Shufersal emphasized that the company
itself would absorb most of the price increase in order to reduce the impact on
consumers. It added that a significant portion of private label products would
be left at current prices, and that these would not be raised in the near
future.
Israel Radio reported that other chains also announced a raise in the prices of their products. The Mega supermarket chain noted that
their price hike would only apply to new products.
In response to the
price increases, cottage cheese boycott leader Itzik Alrov said chains and food
manufacturers colluded to increase the price of products and make life difficult
for millions of citizens – Israel Radio reported.
Alrov called on
consumers to support small, local Israeli manufacturers and reduce their
patronage of larger chains, according to Israel Radio.
Interior Minister
Eli Yishai called on the public to use their power of boycott to protest the
planned price hikes.
Responding to the plan, Yishai commented: “The
paradox of the Shufersal message this morning, of record profits in income on
the one hand, and the announcement of a price increase on the other, can only be
solved through a public boycott.”