From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
Dairy Board announces halt to milk supplies as farmers step up reform protests
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSue Surkes is The Times of Israel's environment reporter
The Israel Dairy Board, which regulates the dairy industry, announces that it will henceforth stop providing raw milk to the companies that process milk and make dairy products.
Hebrew media reports said some supermarkets had begun limiting how much milk customers could buy.
The move is part of an escalating campaign to halt the Finance Ministry’s dairy reform plan.
The ministry wants to dismantle the central planning system of quotas, fixed prices for farmers, and protectionist tariffs, and open the market up to imports. It says this will help bring down prices and the cost of living.
The farmers say this will endanger jobs and Israel’s food security, and point out that prices will not go down as long as no action is taken against the monopolies that control manufacturing, retail and imports.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich told the Knesset plenum yesterday that just three dairy manufacturers, Tnuva, Tara and Strauss, control 85% of the market.
He also threatened the milk producers: “If you stop producing milk, I will remove all tariffs and open the market to competition. This is my authority as minister of finance.”
The Times of Israel Community.