A number of supermarket chains began to limit customers' purchases of milk, fearing a stock shortage amid the current dairy farmers' strike, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.
The sudden change in the food market came amid fears sparked by a wave of farmers' protests against the dairy market reform promoted by Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich.
According to N12, milk shortages are already being seen in Rami Levy stores in northern Israel, and limits have already been imposed on Machsaney HaShuk and Carrefour.
Affected products were milk cartons, cottage cheese, white cheese, and cream products.
On Sunday, dairy farmers in Israel announced they would reduce milk production as a move against the Treasury's milk reform battle.
Dairy production lines stop working
Over the past week, dairy production lines stopped operating, resulting in a 20% shortage in the market, N12 reported.
It was initially estimated that milk supplies would last until Sunday, but due to recent high demand for dairy products, supermarket chains began imposing restrictions on Tuesday morning.
If demand remains this high, according to N12, retailers estimate that Israel may run out of milk by Tuesday evening, as consumers fear being left without it.
In a statement released on Monday, farmers announced the halt.
"This is a step that has not been taken since the founding of the state, not even during war or pandemic periods. The reform promoted by the Finance Minister will bring about the collapse of the dairy industry, the extinction of Israeli milk production, and turn the country into a consumer dependent on milk imports from Turkey, Poland, and other countries."
"This is not just a fight for the industry, it is a fight for the country’s borders, Israel’s nutritional security, and tens of thousands of families who have built their lives around the farm, the settlement, and the land," they added.
Smotrich's dairy reform involves the removal of tariffs on various dairy products for free import; a reduction in the price farmers receive from dairies per litre of milk; a shift from a protected market to an open market facing large European dairies; and changes to milk production allocation that undermine farmers’ economic stability, N12 reported.
The reform made farmers fear they would have to close their farms because they could not compete with imported prices.
They have warned that the proposal would severely harm the agricultural sector and lead to the closure of approximately 400 dairy farms, thereby harming Israel's food security. Farmers also noted that the reform is expected to harm field crops that rely on the dairy industry and supply roughage to dairy farms.
It would also lead to the abandonment of agricultural land across Israel, including border communities in the Galilee and Arava, they added.
Farmers have also criticized the government's policy of importing agricultural products duty-free from the US and other countries while imposing tariffs on Israeli exports, without support or protection for local agriculture, claiming this would severely harm all agricultural sectors.
Yanir Yagna and Eli Ashkenazi contributed to this report.