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.
