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2 Av 5760 - August 3, 2000 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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News
Lulav Cartel Suspects Charged

by Betzalel Kahn

The Unfair Business Practices Authority has issued orders to charge those suspected of forming a lulav cartel last year at Succos time. It was coverage by Yated Ne'eman that led to the investigation of the cartel.

Both last year and two years ago, broad coverage was given to complaints filed with the Commissioner of Unfair Business Practices about the shady dealings of a number of lulav importers who conspired to purchase the bulk of the lulovim from El Arish (in Gaza) and abroad. The importers, who first banded together in 1998 (5758), resumed their syndicate last year again, purchasing most of the El Arish lulovim in order to sell them at outrageous prices, reaping profits of millions of shekels. The merchants intended to charge four times the regular price of previous years for the lulovim, a rate that is several times the average cost.

Charges were filed last week in the Regional Court of Jerusalem against five importers. The five suspects were charged with banding together to establish a syndicate to control the price of lulovim two years ago. The Commissioner for Unfair Business Practices, Dr. David Tadmor, claims that the five importers secured a monopoly over the majority of the lulovim sold in Israel.

The investigation by the Unit for Unfair Business Practices produced several findings. Among other things, it became clear that the importers repeated their activities the following year (last Succos), trying to persuade an additional importer to join them.

News of the affair first appeared in Yated Ne'eman two years ago on Succos, after lulav merchants complained to Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz, former chairman of the Finance Committee. The measures he took induced the suspected lulav importers to meet with him out of fear of a pending investigation.

At that meeting, the importers tried to explain that their actions were within the bounds of the law. In negotiations, Rabbi Ravitz succeeded in lowering the price that the importers had sought to introduce to the market, but that, too, was legally considered a binding arrangement.

In the end, the complaints presented to the Commissioner of Unfair Business Practices spurred him to launch a clandestine investigation, which later became an open investigation. A team of expert investigators, headed by Meir Gilboa, culled testimony from lulav merchants and others involved in the affair. The investigation led to the charges presented to the court this week, two years after the start of the investigation.

Lulav merchants hope that the situation won't recur this year, since lulav prices have skyrocketed the past two years, adversely affecting customers.

The Unit for Unfair Business Practices has recently investigated yet an additional suspected holiday problem: a matzo syndicate which has existed since 5752 (1992). On last erev Pesach, the Unit investigated several bakeries and mills on suspicion that they had formed a cartel to set uniform prices for matzo, hitting hard at the consumers' pockets. This investigation is continuing.


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