Israel is experiencing a meat shortage just before the Passover holiday takes place. Experts warn of higher prices for fish, chicken, and beef with hikes already reaching 25-30%. Poultry shortages also hit customers in January, when veterinary inspectors refused to work to protest their conditions. The Veterinary Inspection Corporation reported that vets had missed work due to illness and that up to nine times as many vets fell ill in a single day.
The Veterinary Inspection Corporation was launched in 2020 to ensure that meat was produced to a high standard. At the time of the January shortage, the organization was negotiating with the Finance Ministry and the General Workers’ Union to regulate the working conditions of vets and other staff. Following a large number of illness reports, a representative of the institution said:
“We are on the eve of signing a collective agreement and the timing of the increase in illness seems unreasonable, it undermines the company’s business and causes damage”.
The most recent shortage has been attributed in part to the closure of a sewage treatment plant used to ensure poultry is fit for consumption according to kosher standards. Large amounts of salt are needed for kosher beef and chicken, and the process of doing so results in a buildup of brine, which is then treated and returned to the sea. Most of the brine processing takes place in two large plants in northern Israel.
One of these is the largest in the country and is expected to close at the end of March. The Ministry of Economy is under pressure to find alternative methods of processing the brine so that meat production is not further delayed and shortages worsen.
The finance minister blamed the private sector but said he was working around the clock to find a solution and make sure there was enough meat for Pesach.
