Israel needs to open its food industry to foreign imports more aggressively to break the grip of the sector’s biggest companies and lower costs for consumers, the country’s antitrust chief said.
Power in the country’s food making business is “much too concentrated” in the hands of five firms, including Strauss Group Ltd., Nestle SA’s Osem unit, and Tnuva Food Industries Ltd., said Michal Halperin, director general of Israel’s Antitrust Authority. Introducing foreign competition would help bring down grocery bills in Israel, a major contributor to one of the highest costs of living among developed countries, she said.
