Yellow cheese at half price at local grocery stores: a new government initiative

Discounted yellow cheese is moving beyond large supermarkets and reaching neighborhood grocery stores. The Ministry of Economy and Industry has completed the allocation of new quotas for the duty-free import of 880 tons of yellow cheese, which will be marketed at approximately 540 points of sale across the country.

The consumer price will range between 4 and 4.5 shekels per 100 grams, roughly half the current shelf price. The process was won by the Global Retail chain, which operates Carrefour in Israel, and the Euro Dairy company. Both committed to marketing the cheese at a price of up to 4 shekels per 100 grams in the chain's branches, and up to 4.5 shekels per 100 grams in other retail outlets.

The cheese will be marketed until the end of the year in 140 Carrefour branches and about 400 additional points of sale, including grocery stores and neighborhood mini-markets that have committed to meeting the set maximum price. This represents a significant shift in how cheese quotas are distributed, as previous allocations were concentrated primarily in large chains.

"For the first time, it will be possible to purchase high-quality yellow cheese at a discounted price in small retail outlets, including grocery stores and neighborhood mini-markets. Precisely in these points, there are significant challenges regarding supply concentration, limited competition, and high logistics costs, making the expansion of duty-free imports to them an important step," said Dani Tal, chairman of the Quotas Committee at the Ministry of Economy and Industry.

This move builds upon a competitive process held earlier this year, which involved Euro Dairy, Rami Levy, Netto Melinda, and Osher Ad. Furthermore, the winners of this process received a 45% bonus benefit on the quota volume for the import of other hard cheeses, which is expected to further expand competition in the hard cheese category and exert downward pressure on prices.