Bethel Finances: Tnuva in price talks with dairy farmers

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Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. has decided not to wait for the Kedmi committee's recommendations to be implemented, and has initiated its own move to lower dairy prices. Sources inform ''Globes'' that, a few weeks ago, the company opened talks with dairy farmers to lower the price of raw milk they sell to it, as part of a general move in which Tnuva will lower prices to retailers and thus to consumers.

Under the proposed plan, dairy farmers will agree to lowering the price of raw milk by a few agorot per liter in exchange for double-digit reductions for several products. The proposal will reportedly cost Tnuva tens of millions of shekels a year.

The products in question include yellow cheeses, white cheeses, yogurt, and puddings.

The Kedmi committee recommends cutting the price of raw milk by NIS 0.05-0.06 per liter and opening the dairy market to imports. Dairy farmers strongly oppose both recommendations, but it seems that they, too, realize that the current situation cannot continue and a practical solution for consumers has to be proposed.

"Globes": Prices on which products will be reduced?

Israel Cattle Breeders Association chairman Yaakov Bachar: "We will mark the products that a survey shows that the poor consume the most, and we will demand substantial reductions for these products."

The Cattle Breeders Association is furious at Tnuva, which has applied for a cheese import permit. "We've asked Tnuva to withdraw from imports so we can hold talks with clean hands. Being number one carries a responsibility, and Tnuva is number one in the dairy industry.

"Tnuva's imports application is not merely pissing from the diving board; it's the lifeguard pissing from the diving board. We'll go the negotiating table with Tnuva on Sunday, but we won't stay silent for long about Tnuva engaging in imports," said Bachar.

Tnuva declined to comment on the report.

Last night, the Tel Aviv University Students Union called for a boycott of Tnuva until the Jewish holidays. Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) begins on September 28.