For several months cottage cheese has turned into a scarce item on store shelves. Consumption levels have not necessarily climbed, yet supplies remain minimal or absent in many locations. Retail chains often fill gaps with other dairy items simply to avoid empty displays.

Tnuva attributes the shortfall to a logistics snag that started weeks earlier and still lacks resolution. The issue centers on transport and storage rather than the Alon Tavor production facility, which keeps output steady. Finished products sit ready but cannot exit the automated warehouse for distribution trucks.

Insiders report the warehouse system fault has persisted beyond a month. The setup controls pallet movement and truck loading. Fixing it requires foreign technicians who decline travel because of security conditions, leaving repairs on hold.

Staff attempt partial manual overrides as a stopgap, though capacity stays restricted. Dairy demand has increased roughly 4 percent since January, partly due to fewer trips abroad amid security concerns. Dairies note that elevated demand plus post-Shavuot shortfalls amplify any logistics hiccup on store shelves.

Unlike past episodes tied to pricing mechanism updates, current conditions show no sign of deliberate scarcity.

The prolonged gap has prompted accusations that Tnuva benefits from limiting cottage cheese to boost sales of other items. Industry voices dismiss these suggestions completely.

A source close to operations asks what possible gain Tnuva could see from withholding cottage cheese when each unit generates revenue and unsold stock creates losses. The firm runs nine plants nationwide where daily issues can arise.

The fault is computer-based, and operator Dematic will not dispatch technicians owing to security risks. Because the dairy relies heavily on automation, manual bypass proves unfeasible despite efforts, resulting in ample production yet blocked deliveries.

Shortages of white cheese, milk, and ordinary yogurt have also drawn attention.

No comparable shortage exists for those products. Institutional demand shifts during conflict periods created temporary gaps that were later resolved. Tnuva holds a smaller share in the yogurt segment anyway.

Importing dairy to cover shortfalls has been suggested.

Such disruptions cannot be foreseen, and cottage cheese imports remain impractical since the product is not made overseas. Prior milk import attempts failed, as did yogurt efforts.

No firm timeline exists for full restocking.

Tnuva technical teams work nonstop to resolve the glitch. Cautious internal estimates point to restored ongoing supply within two weeks. Output this week will stay reduced, with regular deliveries expected by the close of next week, though shelf recovery may require several additional weeks.