Israeli Consumer Basket Prices Soar 20% Over Four Years

Specific products experienced dramatic price jumps. A 100-gram bar of Elite milk chocolate rose by 77.9% in neighborhood stores, while Adanot cheese borekas increased by 31% in neighborhood stores and 47.5% online. Taster's Choice instant coffee rose by 26.1% in neighborhood stores, and Sugat jasmine rice increased by up to 18% in discount chains. The sharp price hikes stand in stark contrast to the preceding four years, from September 2018 to August 2022, when the basket rose by only 4.3% in neighborhood stores, 4.1% online, and 2.8% in discount chains.

Significant disparities were recorded between supermarket chains. Shufersal Online saw the steepest increase at 24%, followed by Shufersal Deal at 22.7% and Shufersal Sheli at 19.6%. In contrast, Victory saw a 16% increase, Rami Levy rose by 10.3%, and Yohananof recorded the lowest increase at 8.5%. The findings contrast with Central Bureau of Statistics data, which reported a 0.7% rise in the consumer price index in August 2026 and noted that the producer price index for food manufacturing rose by only about 2% over the same four years.

Researchers attributed the price surge to rising taxes, utility costs, and a lack of government intervention. They argued that the government's focus on military operations and political disputes pushed the cost of living down the agenda, creating a regulatory and public vacuum that allowed companies to raise prices. Professor Atar warned that without government intervention and increased competition, prices will continue to climb, disproportionately affecting low-income families.