Globes reports that the wave of food price rises shows no signs of abating. Tnuva yesterday announced price rises averaging 7.3% of a range of products including delicacies and its Mama Of and Tirat Tzvi meat products. Two weeks ago Tnuva raised the prices of dairy products that are not under government price control. Food delivery company Wolt also announced a price hike this week.

These latest announcements by Tnuva and Wolt are another chain reaction in a kind of race that was started by Israel's largest importers and food manufacturers. Over the past few weeks, every day or two another company has announced a price increase. It began with the Ministry of Agriculture announcing a 9.3% rise in price of controlled dairy products, and was followed by a 5% increase in the price-controlled bread, and then the dam broke.

Drinks companies the Central Bottling Co. (Coca Cola), Jafora and Tempo put up prices by 6.7% and Tnuva raised the prices of dairy products that are not under government price control by 4.65% on average, while dairy rival Tara hiked the prices of its products by 7%. Strauss quickly entered the fray, hiking prices of its dairy products by an average 2.33%. The Gad dairy raised prices by 5%.

The explanations and silence of the retail chains

Almost every one of the companies explained the hikes as due to continuous price increases that they are absorbing in raw materials. For example, Strauss explained that the price of green coffee has increased by 45% since last December, the price of sugar is up by about 13%, cocoa by 6.5% and there has been a 50% increase in the prices of the oils, as well as a 5.1% increase in the minimum wage.

Unilever is one of the only ones that, as of this writing, has not announced price increases, probably because it well remembers the protests against its most recent wave of price increases.

Source - Globes/Twitter - Image - Nati Shohat/Flash90