The new parallel imports reform will soon be submitted to the government for approval. In a few weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will submit to the cabinet the food imports reform drawn up by the Locker Committee on parallel imports.
Although the announcement by the Prime Minister's Office came just before the Passover holiday, the final recommendations will only be submitted in a few weeks. After the recommendations are submitted, a bill will be drafted, which will take three more weeks. This bill will then be sent to the Knesset for approval in a process that will take several more months. Final approval of the initiative will occur only by early August, which has not inhibited the Prime Minister's Office in making the announcement ahead of Passover.
Under the reform, Israel will adopt the EU procedure for food imports, which will open the market to massive imports of food products, expanding the range of products, with the objective of increasing competition and lowering consumer prices.
However, it should be noted that for the consumer to benefit from lower food prices, the current measure is not enough. Additional measures by the Antitrust Authority, the Ministry of the Economy, and the Ministry of Finance are also needed, and it will also be necessary to deal with the over-concentration of retailers.
Following an agreement between Israel and the EU, Israel will adopt the EU's method of food imports, which allows unrestricted imports of non-sensitive products without customs duties, provided that the goods meet standards set by the EU Post Marketing Regulation.
As in the EU, Israeli importers must meet standards by means of an importer's declaration. This will facilitate importers of ordinary food, but it will be accompanied by higher penalties on importers that do not meet the standards and by tighter enforcement and supervision.
The reform will apply to non-sensitive foods, such as breakfast cereals, cookies, crackers, snacks, pasta, rice, and legumes. It will not apply to sensitive foods, such as meat, infant fooods, and foods about which there are concerns - for these products, the requirement for individual permits for each item will remain in force. The list of sensitive foods will be periodically updated as needed.
According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, imports of non-sensitive foods account for half of Israel's food imports, and import duties on food total $3-4 billion a year.
The proposal was drawn up as part of the review of parallel imports by the committee chaired by Prime Minister's Office director general Harel Locker. Its members include Ministry of Health director general Ronnie Gamzo and Ministry of the Economy director general Amit Lang.
Given the current restrictions on food imports, the Locker Committee examined ways to facilitate food imports and allow imports of many more foods, some new and some of which are already sold in the country, while meeting the appropriate health standards and regulations. Until now, the Ministry of Health has required a specific permit for each imported food product. This process includes the filing of many forms (the product file), and involves a separate bureaucratic process for each food item and the testing of samples of the imported food.
Last week, as part of the Locker Committee's examination, members, including Gamzo, made a working visit to the EU Commission in Brussels and to the British and Danish food authorities. During the discussions, it was agreed that Israel would be party to the EU recall mechanism, and receive regular and immediate intelligence reports on flawed products under the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) program. The EU also proposed providing Israel with advisers to help the Ministry of Health implement the reform.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 13, 2014
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