The Knesset is advancing plans to bring down the price of fruit and vegetables by increasing competition and offering Israelis greater variety at the grocery store. If adopted, the plan is expected to save Israelis 2.7 billion shekels (around $823.6 million) a year.
Through the plan, which is being promoted within the framework of changes to the 2021-2022 State Budget Law, the Agriculture and Finance Ministries hope to increase competition by gradually cutting taxes on all fruits and vegetables and immediately cutting taxes on specific items, among them avocados, garlic, peas, pineapples.
The tax cuts are expected to significantly lower fruit and vegetable prices, which have risen over 80% in recent years. To significantly increase the variety of produce available to the Israeli market, regulations on fruit and vegetable imports would be eased through the adoption of European standards.
Israelhayom.com reports that the reforms, set to be carried out across five years and assessed annually, would see Israel implement steps recommended by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and serve as a significant step in positioning Israel alongside other OECD member-states.