Two months after Israel’s Economy Ministry launched the “Israel Basket,” Minister Nir Barkat held a press conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday presenting what he said were proof points of the program’s success and of a “victory” over grocery chains. Barkat argued the initiative pushed down prices, forced rivals to react, and showed that Israel’s cost of living is driven not by fate but by market concentration. “For years they sold us lies,” he said, blaming monopolies, cartels and what he called “the Coca-Cola system.”
The basket began with an April tender won by Carrefour alone. Since then, Barkat said, more than 100,000 families bought basket products there, Carrefour’s share of those products rose by about 330%, and the chain’s online sales increased by about 50%. He said the basket proved prices were artificially inflated, noting that basket items are now sold at prices 30% or more below what Israelis were used to paying. He also said Carrefour is absorbing lower margins because the higher market share offsets the price cuts.
Barkat said the gap between Carrefour and the next cheapest chain, Rami Levy, remains about 400 shekels for the basket of just over 100 products, while Carrefour’s basket itself stands at about 1,050 shekels. He also said other suppliers raised prices after the program began, including non-regulated dairy products from Tnuva, Tara and Gad, while regulated milk prices rose by about 1%. He linked the basket to the wider “What is good for Europe is good for Israel” reform, saying prices have fallen since January 2025 by 11% for large appliances, 7% for small appliances, and 7% for baby and children’s products.
Barkat accused grocery chains of deliberately avoiding the tender and even using improper means to block competition. He said only one chain bid, asking why the others stayed away, and he sent a letter to the Israel Competition Authority after the results, alleging possible violations of the price coordination law. It is not known whether the authority has opened an investigation.
He also attacked the media, saying it tried from the start to sabotage the initiative for political and economic reasons. The program currently fixes prices for about 100 products in Carrefour’s large hypermarket branches nationwide, and consumers have complained of stock shortages and of prices not matching the promised discount at checkout. The first six months of fixed pricing came with a 25 million-shekel advertising campaign fronted by comedian Eli Yatzpan, with an option to extend it for another six months at an additional 25 million shekels. Barkat said the project is still a pilot that will continue to be refined.
