There was an underlying misconception, that there is a belief by the Jews that whoever doesn't reveal a Corfu etrog for Sukkot will not survive the next year. However, this was not the case. The rabbi of Kovno, Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan Spektor, intended to stop this record-breaking monopoly, and banned the Corfu etrog until the prices would be lowered, and the status of kashrus clarified. Even the rabbi of Corfu certified in a letter that there were already many grafted trees in the region, and the certification process was very complex. The ban was further supported with signatures of many leading rabbis throughout Eastern Europe.