SUZANNE BELLING
Although South African prices compare reasonably favourably with those in other parts of the world, there has been a definite price increase in this country, because matzah and many other Pesach products are no longer manufactured locally and need to be imported.
SA Jewish Report contacted sources in several places where there are large Jewish communities and looked at the prices in Israel (Modi’in), the US (Detroit and San Francisco), Australia (Melbourne) and South Africa (Johannesburg).
The lowest price for matzah in rand terms was discovered by Claire Super at Kosher Kingdom in London, £0,99 (R21,22) per box (at Waitrose Supermarket, the price was £1,20 – R25,72). At Pick n Pay Hypermarket in Norwood in Johannesburg, the price is R29,99.
“Rakusens products are locally made and therefore much cheaper,” Super told SAJR.
The matzah prices elsewhere are Australia $3,95 for Aviv (R45,07) – compared with R37,99 at Pick n Pay – and $2,75 (R31,38) for Sniders Matzah. These costs were sourced by Hilary Barron, who moved to Australia from Cape Town 30 years ago.
In Israel, a 1kg box of matzah sells for NIS9,50 (R38,18), according to expat South African Hilda Stern, who checked on the website of Rami Levy, a large and reasonably-priced Israeli supermarket chain.
Based on a sales flyer from Detroit’s largest Passover foods retailer to the Orthodox community, One Stop Food Market, sent by Alan Gale, associate director of the Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council, a 5lb (2,2 kg) box of matzah costs R136,83, or R61 a kilo).
Former Capetonian Cynthia Wener (San Francisco) priced a 1 lb box of matzah at $3 (R45,66, or R102 per kilo).
In rand terms, Manischewitz matzah meal was priced at R48,99 in Johannesburg and R59,20 ($3,89) in San Francisco; Jerusalem matzah meal at R43,99 ($2,89) in Detroit; Rakusens at R21,22 (£0,99) in London; Sniders at R38,22 (A$3,35) in Melbourne and R19,70 (NIS4,90) in Modi’in.
Wine prices vary and the range was similar in all the countries, from around R60 a bottle (for example, Villa Cape wine at KosherWorld in Johannesburg and a sweet red in Israel) to over R200 (Tishbi at KosherWorld and a dry red in Israel) and R300 for some wines in Detroit. The most popular kosher Pesach wine in the UK is Palwin’s Number 10, which sells at Waitrose for £7,10 (R152,15). In Melbourne, a popular Kedem wine costs A$11,95 (R136,35).
Pam Rosenberg of Adams International in Johannesburg says all their wines are imported from the US to South Africa. Their prices range from a special Chatue Pontet Canet premium French wine at R1100, excluding VAT, to Kedem Cream Pink Red or White Kiddish Wine at R55,99, excluding VAT.
