The Economy Committee convened yesterday (Tuesday) for an urgent discussion despite a break in the Knesset, in response to the publication of the conclusions of the Mediation Gaps Committee and the announcement by the Minister of Finance of the gradual abolition of tariffs on fruits and vegetables. The debate, like all discussions concerning the agricultural industry in the past year, has become heated and saturated with emotions.
The discussion was based on the conclusions of the committee for examining the mediation gaps in the agricultural industry, whose findings showed that about 60% of the cost of agricultural produce remains with farmers, and the rest is with wholesalers and retailers. This means that for every NIS 10 consumers pay for a fruit or vegetable that they purchased, NIS 5.7-6.4 of which they went to farmers, and therefore opening up to competition in the agricultural segment can lead to a drop in prices.
The farmers argued that the commission’s conclusions were inaccurate, and that they contradicted other data. In particular, they stood for the Central Bureau of Statistics report which claimed that only about 40% of the cost goes to farmers and about 60% goes to retailers and wholesalers. However, the CBS report is based on 2017 data and is based on a survey conducted among farmers. CBS Moshe Yanai claimed that the brokerage gap committee did not contact him to get his data, but Malka immediately read an email in which he asked for the data directly from Minai and received a reply that “the data is not worthy of publication due to high variability and statistical uncertainty”. Relied on CBS data.
The director general of the Ministry of Agriculture, Naama Kaufman Pess, referred to a report published by the government and said that it was shared by more than 20 loyal public employees whose work should not be underestimated, and rejected the allegations of contradictory data. The CBS data that the CBS representative said were invalid is not serious. “She added that” the reform aims first and foremost to strengthen Israeli agriculture, I also talk to the farmers themselves and not just the agricultural lobby and if we continue to do what we did, after years Without investment, there really will be no agriculture here. There were no investments in agriculture and the government put NIS 2.7 billion in grants that went in and out. In the end, a balanced decision was made while strengthening agriculture. “
The director general of the Ministry of Economy, Dr. Ron Malka, who chaired the committee, also referred to the allegations raised at the hearing and said: “We came strong with the data and we come out strong, there is no contradiction. The reform has several legs. It’s not just lowering caps, it Direct support and additional steps that need to be taken all together. The Yesodot Institute confuses the scope of expenditure with consumption, and therefore the reports are not worthy of reference, and the examination of IDF waves is only “inductive.” However he added: “We have also found places that should improve competition and no one puts a finger of blame on the farmers, no one in the chain is imperfect. Farmers for example are exempt from restrictive arrangement and have the right to organize and coordinate prices and quantities. Bottom line, I hope the parties sit and come For understanding and agreement. “
“The Israeli government has decided to fight the cost of living, which poses a great threat to society and the economy,” Malka added. Malka explained that consumption beyond the overall productivity of the industry has not changed at all while the population has grown by 47%, and therefore the population itself consumes far fewer vegetables that are considered healthy. Malka added that the brokerage gap committee examined the supply chain of fruits and vegetables from the farmer to the consumer in terms of barriers and market failures in international academic statistical standards while conducting an international comparison as much as possible.
Reports have no meaning
Although the discussion revolved around concrete data – it seemed to the committee members that they had almost no significance, and they categorically rejected the committee’s conclusions for various reasons and went on to argue that there were significant mediation gaps in favor of retailers. MK Qara said, contrary to the committee’s conclusions, that “there are significant mediation gaps here. There needs to be transparency that for every price of fruit and vegetables in the supermarket it will be written what the price paid to the farmer is, and then if there is transparency there will be a public outcry. ” I think this report is biased and does not represent reality and in my opinion it should be shelved to start from the beginning. “MK Yaakov Margi added:” The report is biased. They lied to the public, to us, to the coalition partners. “With an agenda, our intelligence is mocked and there is character assassination for farmers.”
Deputy Minister MK Alon Schuster said he “sees the interim report as a cynical and vile use for unprofessional professional purposes, and the results are bizarre. Food security in the State of Israel did not benefit from the rapid and hasty report and it needs to be shelved or thoroughly examined. “The steps taken recently in unfairness and contrary to explicit promises to the coalition leaders are bad decisions and I call for the orders to be frozen and to return to negotiations that did not take place.”
In contrast, Deputy Minister Avir Kara said that he “represents the uncompromising citizen of the country. He has no lobby, Histadrut, committees, functionaries or pressure group and interest. Most Knesset members here are costly lobbyists and the reason we are here is that today “To enslave the house. The market must be open, and all the caps must be reduced and it must be opened completely to competition, and if assistance is needed, it is possible.” MK Simcha Rotman said that the problem of centralization should be solved, but that tariffs should be lowered at the same time and regardless, as this has additional benefits. “Beyond the fact that it helps the weaker sections to pay less for products, Its growing areas are crops that without the barriers to imports there would be no reason in the world to grow them in Israel. “Zionism is growing peppers, not blueberries.”
At the conclusion of the discussion, Chairman Bitton said that “it was a mistake to reach a tussle and a loss of trust with the farmers. With all the sorrow and even though we listened to government representatives, there are still huge gaps in analyzing the data whether it is against the CBS or in individual cases, the numbers do not match. These claim that wholesale and retail take 200 percent and more Bitton argued that lowering tariffs is a unilateral step by the government, and that the Minister of Agriculture should increase local agriculture and not imports.
He concluded that “this shocks the coalition and I do not understand who wants to keep the coalition and bring it before a new budget. I offer everyone to relax. “.
Avshalom (Abu) Villan, Secretary General of the Israel Agricultural Association: “All my life I have been following the agricultural industry, and it sounds like there are Knesset members who have somewhat forgotten what Zionism is. As Joseph Trumpeldor said, ‘Where the Jewish plow will plow the last furrow – there our border will pass.’ This government is eliminating agriculture on its own within the borders of the state, in the periphery, in the rural area – in the western Negev, the Gaza Strip, the Galilee and the Golan Heights. It does not make sense to offer farmers compensation of 100 NIS per dunam, it is a mockery of Rash. As we have proven in many cases in the past – we farmers are not against reform. The profession of the Ministry of Agriculture, which for some reason was excluded from the discussions that have taken place so far. “