There is a concern about the renewal of a cartel in marketing
lulavs as the daled minim markets open this erev
Sukkos 5762. According to information that has reached
Israeli Deputy Minister Rabbi Avraham Ravitz's bureau a few
days ago, several huge dealers of lulavs are allegedly
attempting, in an absolutely illicit fashion, to monopolize
most of the lulav market, this year, as well.
Three years ago, a group of merchants approached Rabbi Ravitz,
then the Director of the Knesset's Budget Committee. The group
claimed that five lulav dealers attempted to manipulate the
lulav market for two years, in order to become wealthy at the
expense of the public and other merchants. These merchants
joined together in 5759 (1999), and bought most of the lulav
produce that was harvested from the Egyptian town of El Arish
in order to sell them at artificially-inflated prices, which
drew in enormous sums of money, yielding them millions of
shekels. The merchants sold the lulavs at about four times the
typical annual market rate up until then.
The story was first published by the Yated Ne'eman. As
a result of Yated's coverage, the antitrust authorities
ordered an extensive investigation to examine the allegations
regarding the lulav cartel. At the end of the accelerated
investigation, subpoenas were issued a year ago against the
parties in question. Both the opening of an investigation and
the issuing of subpoenas lowered the lulav prices. A year ago,
there was hardly any price gouging.
Thus year again several merchants approached Rabbi Avraham
Ravitz, now Deputy Minister of Education. They presented him
documents and photographs that confirm the reestablishment of
a lulav cartel, done in a highly deceptive fashion in order to
deceive the watchful eye of the antitrust authority.
The merchants claim that in a most puzzling manner, Israeli
Customs officials detained containers for several long days on
the Egyptian side of the Israeli-Egyptian border, at the
Nitzana border crossing. In the containers were thousands of
lulavs. Languishing in the sun, the lulavs dried out,
rendering them unfit for the market. In contrast, the lulavs
of the other merchant group passed the border crossing without
any hitches. The merchants claim, as previously stated, that
they have documents and photographs that confirm these serious
allegations.
Last Thursday, Rabbi Ravitz approached Dror Shtrum, an
antitrust official, impressing upon him the severity of the
matter. A lulav cartel causes inflation of the merchandise up
to four times the value of normal, competitive prices. Shtrum
told Deputy Minister Rabbi Ravitz that he would immediately
open an active investigation in the matter, thus preventing a
similar cartel this year.
Rabbi Ravitz advised merchants and the general public last
Thursday to wait several days before purchasing lulavs, until
the steps taken cause prices to fall. Most of the lulavs used
in Israel are imported from the vast palm groves around El
Arish in the Sinai area of Egypt.
