The dire shortage of lulavim in the Daled Minim market
continues despite permission by the Ministry of Agriculture
to import 600,000 lulavim from Egypt and Jordan. Half
of these shipments have yet to arrive and the 300,000
lulavim brought into Eretz Yisroel are being
controlled by a cartel trying to monopolize the Daled Minim
market.
The shortage caused a sharp rise in prices and many dealers
called on the public to hold off their purchases for a few
days until the issue is clarified. In the meantime one
chareidi dealer managed to import a large quantity of
lulavim from Egypt and the Gaza Strip despite the
cartel's efforts to block all other imports.
According to a Ministry of Agriculture announcement on
Sunday, "The lulav shortage . . . resulting from the
cancellation of imports from Egypt was solved through
intervention by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural
Development, Yisrael Katz," who arranged to have 600,000
lulavim brought into the country.
Meir Mizrachi, the Agriculture Ministry's commissioner for
plant growth protection services, reported that 300,000
lulavim have already arrived in Israel and are ready
for sale after undergoing tests by his department. Another
150,000 lulavim have already received import licenses
after the orchards in Jordan were tested, and another 150,000
are expected to arrive from Egypt.
But a Yated Ne'eman investigation found that the first
300,000 lulavim from Egypt belong to a single importer
who managed to cause an artificial shortage in the
lulav market by preventing other dealers from
purchasing lulavim from the enormous el-Arish orchards
in Egypt and possibly in Jordan as well.
Based on information provided by Daled Minim dealers to
Yated, it appears that the individual in question, who
faces criminal charges for creating a lulav cartel a
few years ago and whose trial in that matter is still
underway, managed through deceit to gain control of the
entire lulav market in Egypt, creating an
unprecedented monopoly.
The shortage also has a direct effect on the Daled Minim
market in the US. Many dealers who exported esrogim
and haddasim to the US recently encountered an
exceptionally high return rate because they could not include
lulavim in their Daled Minim packages.
Furthermore, one of the leading dealers in the US, a man from
Lakewood who purchased 200,000 lulavim from this
individual, paid tens of thousands of dollars several weeks
ago yet has not received a single lulav. The importer
claims the shipment got lost at sea, yet it appears that the
same lulavim were sold to another dealer in the US who
did receive the merchandise.
A New York beis din run by Yeshivas Beis Yosef and
headed by HaRav Yaakov Chaim Yaffen issued a restraining
order late last week forbidding the sale of these
lulavim pending a proper inquiry in order to ensure
that the public does not unwittingly transgress the sin of
gezeiloh by using stolen lulavim.
Meanwhile, the 150,000 lulavim the Agriculture
Ministry said would arrive from Jordan are no longer expected
to arrive. Moments after the arrival of the dealer who
obtained permission to import lulavim from an enormous
orchard belonging to one of the members of the royal family
in Jordan, an inexplicable government order suddenly arrived,
forbidding the harvest for no apparent reason.
The dealer says he suspects that one of the dealers in Israel
used various connections to prevent the import as part of
efforts to create an artificial shortage. This same dealer
tried to import lulavim from Iraq through a Jordanian
middleman, but the Ministry of Agriculture banned the deal
since the orchards there could not be inspected before the
harvest.
Chareidi public figures have been trying to persuade the
Egyptian authorities to permit the export of lulavim
from el-Arish. On Sunday MK Rabbi Moshe Gafni spoke with the
Prime Minister's Office and the Foreign Minister's Office to
demand that they apply pressure on the Egyptian authorities
to permit the import of larger quantities of lulavim.
After the Ministry of Agriculture reported that, "600,000
lulavim would be brought into Israel," the Agriculture
Ministry asked the Foreign Ministry to stop applying pressure
on the Egyptians. Yet it appears the pressure is still needed
and the possibility of involving ranking officials from both
countries is under consideration.
Heavy pressure was also applied on the Israeli Agriculture
Ministry recently to grant a single dealer an exclusive
license to import lulavim from Egypt. Ministry
officials told Yated Ne'eman that the importer in
question applied pressure on the ministry through improper
means. Ministry Director-General Yossi Yishai says the
Egyptians reduced the quantity of lulavim provided by
el-Arish in order to protect the date orchards. Dealers in
Israel insist that the Egyptians' decision was the result of
pressure applied by one of Israel's lulav
importers.
A shipment of 100,000 lulavim circumvented the cartel,
arriving from Egypt via Haifa Port. The Israeli dealer who
arranged the shipment said he intends to break the monopoly
created by the group of importers who illegally took over the
lulav market in Egypt to jack up prices. He also
managed to bring in 80,000 lulavim cut at Deir-el-
Balah in the Gaza Strip based an arrangement between Deputy
Welfare Minister MK Rabbi Avrohom Ravitz and Defense Minister
Shaul Mofaz. In a conversation with Rabbi Ravitz, Mofaz said
the defense system is aware of this critical need and "every
effort will be made to permit this transfer."
To allow the shipment to reach Israel the Karni Crossing had
to be opened for a few hours on Sunday following several days
of secret arrangements. Mofaz told Rabbi Ravitz that the
transfer would be executed through back-to-back unloading and
loading at Karni on Friday, but due to technical and other
problems the shipment was delayed until Sunday. Immediately
after the transfer, the Ministry of Agriculture insisted on
spraying the lulavim to prevent the possibility of
unwanted insects. The arrival of the shipment brought an
immediate reduction in lulav prices.
Rabbi Gafni said that in addition to its obligation to share
all of the information at its disposal regarding the criminal
elements behind the lulav cartel with Israel Police
and the Antitrust Authority, the Ministry of
Agriculture—with the help of the Foreign Ministry and
the Prime Minister's Office—must also act immediately
to create additional sources for lulav imports by
contacting the Egyptian and Jordanian authorities.
