MK (Yahadut Hatorah) Uri Maklev announced on Wednesday 16 Sivan that despite statements applauding the reduction in food prices in the marketplace, in fact the princes have gone up, not down.

Maklev explains that while the prices have dropped in the world marketplace over the past five years by an average of 18.9%, prices in Israel during this period have risen by 2.3%. He insists the battle to reduce the cost of living demands immediate attention with attention paid to the monopolies that control pricing. He is calling for consumer transparency.

He reminds his colleagues in Knesset that it has been five years since the so-called “cottage cheese” protests which led to a change in the public agenda to place additional significance to combating the cost of living. He told his colleagues that since the cottage cheese protests prices have not dropped as the government would like consumers to believe is the case. In fact, he points out prices have risen.

Maklev believes the path to lowering the cost of food is to wage a war against the monopolies. He cites the International Monetary Fund (IMF) documents the decline in prices by 18.9% on the average, but this is in no way reflected by the high prices in Israel. Maklev explains that Israel is among the more expensive OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) nations because of the price of food. On the average, food is tens of percent less expensive outside of Israel. He feels the profits enjoyed by the manufacturers and distributers is simply too high. He questions how it is that so much regulation is in place yet prices do not drop as they should.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)