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"The dollar may rise, prices will jump by 30 percent" - voila! Of money

2023-03-05T15:12:07.433Z


Renowned economists hold talks with senior government officials and warn: "The purchasing power of the Israeli consumer will be severely damaged." Barkat warned the retailers in the market: do not raise prices before Passover


On video: ninth consecutive Saturday of protest: tens of thousands of demonstrators across the country against the legal revolution (photo: Karin Sagi, Yael Barash, Reuven Castro)

Renowned economists have been holding talks with senior government ministers for the past week and are warning: the dollar may cross the four shekel mark, prices will jump by 30% and the purchasing power of the Israeli consumer will be severely damaged.

According to them, this forecast should come true in the coming months, and some even before Passover.



The Minister of Finance, Bezalel Smotrich, continues to broadcast to the outside world that the Israeli economy is strong and there is no danger that it will be damaged, and according to him, the proof of this is the decision of the credit rating company Fitch, which is considered the most conservative among credit rating companies in the world, to keep Israel's rating forecast unchanged, A+, and not lower it .



The price increase that is felt in the marketing chains, indicates that the crisis is already here.

The Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, raised concerns at the cabinet meeting today about a sharp wave of price increases before Passover and announced that he had summoned the largest retailers in the economy and the factors that influence the food market, to warn them of an intention to exploit the crisis to their advantage.



Barkat complained at the yeshiva that the officials of the various ministries burdened him with unnecessary bureaucracy, instead of helping him in the process of lowering the cost of living.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich backed him.

Netanyahu asked the Director General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to go into the details and accompany the steps to open imports personally.

The dollar may have weakened a little, but the increases will not stop (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Summoning the retailers, manufacturers and farmers to a clarification or warning call with the Minister of Economy is the only direct move Barkat can make, since he has no way to determine the price list of their products, or set an upper limit for them.



What the government can do, for example, is to send a clear message to the poultry farmers, who raised the price of chicken by 20% in the last month, according to which if the price increase continues, the supply and demand through the Poultry Council, and price control.



The whip that will be waved in front of the retailers and manufacturers is the "importers' law", which was removed from the "arrangements law" and was supposed to limit the power of the importers by legislation that would allow them to import one large and one medium brand and waive the permit in order to increase import competition.

The Minister of Economy, who is already working on a similar, but more comprehensive government bill, which will also limit the power of the manufacturers and large marketing chains, in addition to importers, can threaten to speed up the legislation, which the current government has already proven that when it wants to speed up processes, it is also successful.



Will these threats stop the expected price increases even before the holiday?

Against the background of the weakening of the dollar, they may moderate a little, but as of now, the price increases have already started and we will not see them stopping.

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Source: walla

All business articles on 2023-03-05

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