K A S H R U T . C O M_©

War in Ukraine could put a crunch on ‘shmura’ matzah supplies

March 30, 2022 - from JTA

"On Feb. 24, two shipping containers laden with 20,000 pounds of shmura matzah were slated to head out of port in Odessa, Ukraine, on their way to Orthodox Jews in the United States.

"Two hours before they were to be loaded onto a ship, Russia invaded.

"The shipment was the last of 200,000 pounds of unleavened bread that Ukrainian matzah bakeries shipped to the United States this year, in addition to what they ship to Europe and Israel.

"Now, technically outside of Ukraine’s customs zone, it could neither be returned to the country nor travel on to the United States.

"Rabbi Meyer Stambler, head of the Chabad-affiliated Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, estimates that his factories in Ukraine account for about 15-20% of the U.S. market share for shmura matzah, the carefully “guarded” variety that many observant Jews prefer to use during the seder."

UK factory baking one million matzahs for Ukraine

March 30, 2022 - from Israel National News

"A UK matzah maker has set a goal to bake one million matzahs for the Ukrainian Jewish community, who are lacking supplies for Passover, according to the Orthodox Union.

"The Orthodox Union said that the war has caused a major shortage of matzah for the community and for Jewish refugees who have fled to nearby countries.

"The Rakusen matzah factory worked 24-hours a day to bake enough matzahs to send to the community in Ukraine, the UK Jewish News reported.

"The Orthodox Union initially contacted the London Beth Din who put them in touch with Rakusen, who agreed to bake extra matzah for Passover.

"The order was for 70,000 boxes, the equivalent of about a million matzahs. The order will be ready by this Friday, with the boxes sent to Hungary and then off to Ukraine. Each box has been labelled by hand to say that it is for Jewish refugees."