This is also how Prof. Eden replied in his interrogation (Transcript, p. 758, questions 9-15; p. 760, questions 22 to 761, questions 3; and p. 763, questions 1-4):
"Q: Sir, I'm just asking you,
A: It's different from Agrexco in that sense,
Q: That you didn't write, that you didn't mention the fact that there's an agreement there, that's all, that's my question.
A: So if I didn't mention the fact that there is an agreement there, I didn't mean to be misleading, God forbid.
Q: Yes.
...
Q: But there it's really a down payment, like a down payment, because they are deducted from the final consideration.
A: That's right.
Q: Thank you And for Agrexco, it's not an advance for anything, because you don't detract from anything.
A: That's right. It's not a down payment for anything, I'll repeat it once again, it's a payment to secure a contract, which is explicitly referred to in International Standard 15, which was actually enacted, was updated only in 2015."
...
"Q: You will also confirm to me that unlike Agrexco, if the relationship between Alliance and Migdal ends, it can reclaim the value of the advances from him. I refer to answer number 6 in the letter.
A: Yes."
- As for the example of Universal, which was raised in the Eden 2025 opinion, it appears that the report assumes an existing right of Universal to refund the advances, but the risk described is non-realization or delay in realization, i.e., not the absence of a legal right (P/18, at p. 1715 of the appendices):
"In a contract market our obligation is to purchase the entire tobacco plant, which encompasses many leaf styles, therefore, we also have a risk that not all of that production will be readily marketable at prices that support acceptable margins. In addition, in many foreign countries where we purchase tobacco directly from farmers, we provide them with financing. Unless we receive marketable tobacco that meets the quality and quantity specifications of our customers, we bear the risk that we will not be able to fully recover our crop advances or recover them in a reasonable period of time."