Cost of Living Index Drops in Israel; Economic Stability Seen

The cost of living index tumbled five points last month, the sharpest drop in the inflationary trend registered in the last few months. July’s index stood at 244 against a June index of 249.

If the decrease in the index does not turn out to be merely an indication of the seasonal food glut, it may be the long hoped for turn in the direction of economic stability. The index is set on a base of 100, computed on prices in September 1951.

The question of Israel’s economic stability is one of the major points on the agenda of the Mapai Party’s convention which will be held in Tel Aviv at the end of this month. A special 11-man committee has drown up a list of economic discussion points which will be placed before the parley. That list was released this weekend.

Among the committee’s suggestions is a proposal that the country’s economic planning should give stress to exports, that 100,000,000 pounds should be raised from private sources, the development budget and reparations in order to foster export projects and basic industry, and that easy credit terms should be granted export firms.

The committee also proposed that wages should be tied to productivity, that employers be permitted to discharge workers for unadaptibility and that at least half the country’s imports and exports should be in Israeli vessels. Other recommendations made known include the raising of the work week in public institutions from 42 hours to 45, and for teachers from 30 hours to 32.

Israel’s wheat and barley crops increased by more than 200 percent in the past year, it was revealed here this week in a report released by the agricultural section of the Government’s Statistics Department. The total wheat crop of 74,000 tons and barley crop of 85,000 tons represent a yield per acre comparable to that of the most advanced cereal producing countries.