1,450 people have joined the Tnuva Food Industries Ltd. boycott page on Facebook set up last night by the Tel Aviv University Student Union. The boycott follows an earlier Facebook boycott page, entitled "Don’t buy from Tnuva", which 5,300 people joined.
Tel Aviv University Student Union's boycott against Tnuva follows its boycott against Shufersal Ltd. (TASE:SAE). That boycott was called off after the supermarket chain - Israel's largest - lowered prices on 30 basic goods. However, "Globes" found that prices for some these products were previously sold at lower prices at Shufersal and its competitors, and that Shufersal did not really lower prices at all.
On the Tnuva boycott page, the student leaders write, "We call on you to boycott Tnuva dairy products until the holidays." Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) begins on September 28. The students add, "Tnuva controls 52% of the dairy market. Since Apax Partners took over Tnuva, the company has raised prices just because it could, and the time has come for consumers to raise their voices."
The students call on consumers to "opt for dairy products by Strauss Group Ltd. (TASE:STRS), Tara Dairy, and other companies, instead of Tnuva, which forces retailers and suppliers to raise prices."
The students say that experience shows that if the boycott against Tnuva succeeds in lowering prices, other producers will follow suit. As for the company, they write, "Once, Tnuva was owned by kibbutzim, moshavim, dairies, and the people. In 2008, Apax took over Tnuva. Since 2008, Tnuva's profits have risen steadily. Ostensibly, there is nothing wrong with this, except that this growth was made at the expense of the Israeli consumer. At our expense."
The Facebook page lists Tnuva labels, some of which the public does not know belong to the company. The labels include Piraeus white cheese, Yoplait yogurts, Hachef Halavan (the White Chef), Snowfrost frozen vegetables, Mama Off poultry products, Tirat Zvi deli meats, Olivia sauces, and Adom Adom beef.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on September 7, 2011
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