February 6, 2026

 

Dairy farmers in Israel threaten to suspend milk supply over government dairy reform plan

 

 

Dairy farmers in Israel on February 1 threatened to stop supplying milk as tensions over a government dairy reform plan ratchet up, prompting the country's Finance Minister, Bezalel Smotrich, to brand them as "communists."

 

The farmers argued that the reform is being rushed and will cause them to lose their livelihoods.

 

As part of a broader plan to lower the cost of living, the finance minister wants to disband the centralised coordination mechanism that has characterised the dairy industry since the state's founding.

 

Smotrich plans to slash milk production in Israel by a third, cut the price per liter by 15%, and abolish tariffs of up to 40% to flood the Israeli market with imported dairy products. The government approved his plan in December.

 

Smotrich intended to include the reform in the Economic Arrangements Bill, a massive package of proposals that accompanies the annual state budget vote.

 

On February 2, Amit Ifrach, secretary-general of the Moshav Movement and chairman of the Israel Farmers' Association, welcomed a recommendation by the Knesset's legal adviser, Sagit Afik, to remove the dairy reform proposal from the Economic Arrangements Bill.

 

Ifrach said the dairy reform was a "profound" one with "significant implications for the future of the dairy industry, agriculture, settlement, and the entire rural area." It was not, he insisted, a budgetary measure that could be "passed in a hurry."

 

He continued that the legal adviser's move was "an important step in our struggle to prevent fatal damage to approximately 400 dairy farms, mainly in moshavim near the border, to halt the decree, and to maintain food security, farmers, and open spaces."

 

Dairy prices have long been a flashpoint in Israel, with spikes often touching off public anger and even mass protests amid the country's high cost of living — an issue that has consistently ranked among voters' top concerns in recent elections.

 

Raw milk producers blame the handful of milk product manufacturers, such as Tnuva and Strauss, for the high prices.

 

Outside of Israel, Canada is the main country that still operates a similar supply management system for milk, including state pricing, quotas, and import tariffs.

 

- The Times of Israel