As if it's not hard enough here:
Israeli citizens wake up to a morning where the prices of quite a few products and services go up.
Chairman of the Economic Committee MK David Bitan on the increase in milk prices (archive) // Knesset Spokesperson
The price of food and toiletry products of many large companies in the economy (Shastowitz, Willipod, Strauss, Ahava, etc.) will be increased from today.
Some companies announced price increases already last month and some are expected to come.
And what does the government do?
Fueling the price increases by increasing the price of services under its supervision: thus, yesterday the price of fuel was raised by 16 ag to 7.38 shekels per liter, and the price of electricity went up by 2.6%.
Stop the subsidy
The increase in gasoline prices in February is due to a worldwide trend of oil price increases in the last month, due, among other things, to the Houthi threat in the Red Sea.
Although the increase in prices is a worldwide trend, gasoline prices in Israel are in the upper range of Western countries.
State taxes make up 61% of the price of gasoline in Israel.
Out of a consumer price of 7.38 AZ per liter, NIS 4.48 is collected by the state in excise and VAT payments.
Until the end of 2023, the price of fuel was partially subsidized by the government, but at the beginning of the year it decided to end the subsidy as part of the convergence measures following the war.
At this stage, the Treasury does not expect the renewal of the fuel price subsidy.
Refueling (illustration), photo: Yehoshua Yosef
"The high tax rate on gasoline in Israel is due, among other things, to the high congestion on the roads, the result of a long-standing government failure to underinvest in the transportation infrastructure and mass transit systems. While gasoline prices continue to rise, the metro project continues to be delayed and postponed," he explains in a conversation with Israel Hayom. Chen Herzog, the chief economist of the consulting firm BDO.
According to him, "In the last year and a half, instead of promoting solutions to promote an efficient mass transportation system and to create alternatives to private transportation, the government chose the solution of subsidizing the excise tax on gasoline. Following the war and the budget deficit, the state cannot continue subsidizing the excise tax, and thus the public remains bald here and there - even with the increase in prices The gasoline, and also without any other efficient transportation alternative."
Chen Bar-Yosef, Director of the Fuel and Gas Administration at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure: "The increase in the price of 95 gasoline at the station in February is due to two reasons: "The first, an increase in the price of international fuel at a rate of 4.52%.
In January '24 there was an increase of about 7% in crude oil prices.
The second, an increase in the exchange rate of the representative dollar at a rate of 1.88%.
These increases affected the increase in the price of gasoline by 2.22% - which is 16 aj.
Chen Herzog, photo: Nati Hadad
Herzog concludes and says that "the increase in gasoline prices is a wake-up call for the state to really deal with the transportation crisis in Israel. A change in priorities is required to promote public transportation and electric transportation, which are the real solution to the problem of the cost of transportation in Israel."
Electricity goes up in winter
The electricity rate went up by 2.6% tonight at the height of the winter period, when many families consume more electricity to heat the house.
It is true that this is an increase of about NIS 10 per month, but that too could have been prevented.
According to Herzog, "Although electricity prices in Israel are low compared to other countries, the increase in electricity prices could have been avoided if the government had met the goals it set for reducing the use of coal and promoting renewable energies.
"The non-compliance with the government targets meant that the electricity sector could not replace expensive and polluting coal with cheaper and cleaner gas and solar energy, and electricity consumers are forced to pay the price of non-compliance with the government targets."
Dr. Ron Tomer, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The wave of price increases makes it very difficult not only for households but also for businesses.
The President of the Federation of Manufacturers and Chairman of the Presidency of Employers and Businesses, Dr. Ron Tomer, said in a conversation with "Israel Hayom" that "the wave of rising prices - in fuel, electricity, municipal taxes and also in maritime transport - is making it very difficult for businesses and the public in Israel. The more expensive it is here, This makes it more difficult to produce in Israel and maintain our competitiveness vis-a-vis other countries of the world and for the citizens of Israel.
"Therefore, I call on the Israeli government to act immediately to moderate the rising prices that are under its responsibility, such as fuel and electricity, and thus maintain a competitive environment. This is especially so now, when we are at war, and it is even harder than usual for businesses to continue operating.
"It's easy to say 'it's expensive here,' but instead of fighting the private sector, the state must first look inward. Understand that it is expensive and change the view of the private sector as a 'milking cow.' We should always think about the day after, and the day after the war we want here A strong economy that is growing, and this can only be achieved by strengthening business and industry and reducing costs and regulation."
Bezalel Smotrich, photo: Oren Ben Hakon
The "Lobby 99" organization, which has been fighting for years to break up the monopolies of the food companies, said in preparation for the price increase: "Unfortunately, the herd effect prevailed, and the cynical exploitation of the war period, when the public and the government do not pay attention to the issue, only expands to more and more companies announcing unjustified price increases The public, which is preoccupied with its abductions and deaths, cannot respond with consumer boycotts, and the government shows complete helplessness when it comes to dealing with the cost of living.
"Bottom line, if there was a competitive market in Israel, the food companies would not dare to raise prices during this period. Until we see a full opening to imports and dismantling of monopolies - the public will continue to suffocate in the supermarket."
The cost of living worsens significantly, and even during the war, many food companies announced price increases in early February and early March.
Strauss, photo: Enchio Gush-Gini
So, for example, starting today 25% of Strauss products will become more expensive by up to 25% and at an average rate of 1.7%.
Among the products whose prices will increase: chocolate bars by 4-9%, chocolate bars by 12-14%, chocolate bars by 10%, coffee by 12%, hummus by 6%-3%, tahini by 5%, olive oil 25%, jams 7% and various snacks - potato chips, Doritos and Cheetos - 2%-9.6%.
Shastowitz is raising the prices of its products by 5-20% from today.
Thus, for example, the price of Rio tuna will be increased by 5%, barilla pasta will become more expensive by 12%, Master Chef sauces will become more expensive by 10%, Palmolive liquid body soap 750 ml will become more expensive by 17%, Colgate Red toothpaste will become more expensive by -10%, Colgate red gel by 15% and Ajax cleaning products will become more expensive by 20%.
Willifood will increase the price of some of its products by 15%-7%, including sauces, stir-fry noodles and the "Chef's Meal" series will increase in price by 15%, sweet corn kernels, palm hearts and sardines will increase in price by 10%, and rice will increase in price by 7%.
The Ahva company will also increase the price of some of its products by 7-8%, including normal raw tahini, full raw tahini and pressure bottle grinding.
Writer's cart, photo: GettyImages
It should be noted that some products became more expensive already in January.
Thus, for example, Yakin increased the prices of some of its products by 6-16%.
Among the products: canned corn, peas and chickpeas as well as tomato products.
The Beit al-Hasita company will also increase the price of some of its products by 5-15%.
Thus, for example, olives became more expensive by 12%, and pickles by 5%.
These increases will be joined by price increases from other companies, including Unilever, Tempo's alcohol products, some of Vysotsky's products, Barache and others.
Unilever is raising prices again
After already last June raising the prices of its products by an average of 7.5%, we published yesterday for the first time on the "Israel Hayom" website that Unilever on March 1st increased the price of Strauss ice creams, caramels and chocolates by an average of 9.7%.
The price of a Click snack will increase by 12%, Rose of the Galilee by 10%, Carmisimo ice cream by 10%, Magnum unit by 8% and Crambo by 15%.
Unilever stated that the hike is only in the ice cream and chocolate products: "The company made efforts to reduce the increase in prices as much as possible, but the increase of tens of percent in the prices of cocoa and sugar recently does not allow it to continue to absorb the increase in production costs."
Unilever factory in Arad, photo: Dodo Greenspan
Asem Nestlé also announced yesterday a 9%-3% increase in the price of some of its products, including sabar salads, tivol, noodles for soup, bonjour, ketchup and sauces, cookies and chocolate-based products.
"The cumulative price increases require a moderate adjustment of the price list, which partially compensates for the price increases," the company explained.
A source in the food chains told "Israel Hayom" that "the food manufacturers who announced the increases did not back down from their decision, but the price of the basket should not increase immediately but in a period of two or three weeks. The retailers keep stocks and are not in a hurry to raise the prices for the consumer, because they understand that this hurts the public and sales And that we are in a time of war.
"I don't believe that the quoted rates are the real rates in the three-week period, because there are also sales that the companies will be forced to hold to lower the average increase. However, there are products that are critical, such as olive oil, which is problematic all over the world due to shortages.
"Olive oil is expected to become more expensive at the stated rate, about 25%, because these are goods and products that have become more expensive around the world, and there it has become more expensive drastically. It is difficult to predict how much the prices will actually rise in the end."
Another source told Israel Hayom: "We are trying to postpone the price increases as much as possible, and we have not confirmed the suppliers at the moment, but we expect that on Sunday we will see the actual change in most of the marketing chains. Some suppliers already raised prices in early January."
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