The leaders of the Association believe that the products of Israeli breeders can not compete with imported beef from Europe and South America, so the cancellation of quotas and duties will be a "death sentence" for 460 farms and deprive the livelihood of thousands of families."

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, reducing the price of food in Israel, began the reform of agricultural subsidies in accordance with guidelines that the first year gives the government of Israel, OECD. The meaning of the reform is to replace the currently practiced methods of protection of local producers through prohibitions and restrictions on imports in the European system of direct subsidies to farmers.

The Finance Ministry has already agreed to such a reform with egg producers: they agreed to the liberalization of imports in exchange for direct subsidies in the amount of 100 million NIS. The Finance Ministry also advances the liberalization of the market of fresh beef and suppliers of beef cattle to the slaughterhouse trying to negotiate as much as possible.

In a letter circulated on Wednesday a press-the Secretary of the Association of farmers and Dafna Cohen-Nouriel said that, taking the program of gradual liberalization of the market of fresh beef, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of agriculture took into account only the interests of farmers engaged in grazing cattle. But bulls, cows and calves walking on the pastures, make up only 10% of those that come to the Israeli slaughter, the rest are fattened on fodder camps, the letter said.

A significant part of the cattle coming to the Israeli slaughter, imported into the country alive and then brought to the condition" the feeding points. This sector of the local meat production has been sharply criticized by veterinarians and animal advocates: conditions on giant ships carrying Israel from Australia thousands of cows and sheep, more than bad.

The Ministry of agriculture and the Ministry of Finance found that large direct subsidies worthy only of farmers engaged in breeding cattle on local pastures. The rest of the proposed "only" 14 million shekels a year and only for a transitional period of three years. The farmers Association considers this "discrimination" is unfair and demand to refuse from import liberalization.