"We must supervise the competition among produce importers in the shmittah year to prevent price gaps of up to 200% as in the past." This was the demand of the government Knesset Supervisory Committee in a special hearing held on the subject of preparation for the upcoming Shmittah year.
Tzvika Cohen, deputy general of the Agricultural Ministry, reported that "In anticipation of Shmittah, we have issued guidelines according to public comment, including the chareidi community and the Kashrus committees, all of which were approved." He said that the ministry would not interfere with the import of produce and would allow the free market to operate. He also noted, "We sat with various kashrus committees, the major chareidi bodies, and required that every product which comes from Jordan be directed to importers at the same time so as to regulate proper competition and to reduce prices."
MK Rabbi Uri Maklev noted in the discussion that the government must help to the utmost of its ability those farmers who are keeping Shmittah. "To help and assist actively those who have opted to lay their lands fallow with all that this entails. Furthermore, there are many hundreds of farms who also will not work their lands but because they do not fulfill the Agricultural Ministry's requirements which have become more strict of late, they are not eligible for funding. In these instances, we call upon the Ministry to be lenient and ease the initial conditions for receiving aid."
