Israeli market to face severe egg shortage

Israeli egg manufacturers and farmers have embarked on a strike on Sunday, which may lead to a severe shortage in eggs. The aim of the strike is to raise the egg price by four NIS cents (one U.S. cent), namely five percent, in order to cover the growing costs of feeding chickens, which went up 30 percent in the past two months. "In recent time, there has been a substantial rise in prices of the inputs to raise chickens, and we did not get the proper compensation for it," Moti Elkabatz, secretary of the Chicken Farmers' organization, told Xinhua on Sunday, "we've gone into major financial losses," he added. "If the Finance Ministry won't do something about it, the entire farms will collapse," he added. The farmers provide the market with five million eggs daily. Since there are not many eggs in stock, experts believe that the shortage will appear from Monday onwards. "The State Comptroller turned to the agriculture and finance ministers and guided them not to raise the price of eggs and milk, " the Finance Ministry told Xinhua. Last week, Israel's largest chain supermarket Shufersal announced it will raise the price by four percent starting from November. The Shufersal explained the hike in prices come after several months during which the prices of electricity, fuel and local taxes are rising, including raw materials. Amid the recent wave of prices hikes in Israel, including food, gas, electricity and water, consumer groups have been vowing to arrange boycotts against local food conglomerates. A group called "Dear Israel" called on the public to force the firms charging lower prices until family consumption went down by at least 10 percent. Two weeks ago, the Israeli cabinet unanimously approved a plan to battle sharp price hikes brought about by food manufacturers and importers. Last summer, hundreds of thousands of Israelis went to the streets to protest the rising costs of living, demanding a change in the government's priorities towards what they considered a more equitable socioeconomic agenda. Despite other important issues, improving public welfare and housing condition reign as a central theme during the campaign trail leading towards the upcoming Jan.-22 elections.