European Commission levies heavy fines on Dole and Del Monte
European Commission levies heavy fines on Dole and Del Monte
Dole and Del Monte faced huge fines from the European Union while Fyffes plc in Dublin, Ireland, announced Oct. 15 that "it has not been found to have breached EU competition rules and no fine has been imposed on it."
Fyffes said that this followed an Oct. 15 European Commission announcement that it had concluded its investigation into the supply of bananas to the northern European region of the European Economic Area.
The Associated Press reported Oct. 15 that the European Union slapped an $82.9 million fine on the importers of Dole and Del Monte bananas, claiming they operated an illegal banana cartel.
The European Union said that Chiquita also joined the cartel that fixed prices for bananas in eight E.U. nations, but the American banana giant was not fined because it alerted officials to the scheme.
Dole Fresh Fruit Co., based in Westlake Village, CA, was fined $62.7 million for its role in the cartel, which operated from 2000 to 2002, the European Commission said in a statement.
Fyffes confirmed that its German joint venture, Internationale Fruchtimport Gesellschaft Weichert & Co KG, was notified by the European Commission that it has adopted a decision and finds Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. in Coral Gables, FL, and Weichert jointly liable for fines of $20.2 million for breaches of Article 81 of the Treaty of Rome and Article 53 of the European Economic Area Agreement relating to the supply of bananas to the Northern European region of the EEA, which includes Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
The European Union indicated that Del Monte was jointly liable for paying the Weichert fine since it controlled the company at the time of the infringement.
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. indicated Oct. 15 in a statement that "following the commission's press release and midday briefing, Fresh Del Monte Produce understands that certain of its subsidiaries originally named by the commission were not found to have breached EU Competition Rules, and also that none of the company's employees has been found to have breached EU Competition Rules."
"Fresh Del Monte Produce confirms that a "14.7 million fine has been imposed on Internationale Fruchtimport Gesellschaft Weichert. &" Weichert, Del Monte added, "is a company in which Fresh Del Monte Produce indirectly held a non-controlling financial interest until December 2002. Weichert has been a subsidiary of Fyffes plc since January 2003. The commission holds Fresh Del Monte Produce jointly and severally liable for Weichert's conduct as a result of this financial interest. Fresh Del Monte Produce has not yet received the commission's decision and therefore is not able to comment on the commission's basis for asserting liability against the company as a result of Weichert's conduct. The company believes, however, that any assertion of liability based on an allegation that the company controlled Weichert would be without merit. Once the company has received the full decision, it will consider its options, including an action for annulment in the European Court of First Instance."
Dole Food Co. released a statement Oct. 15 to The Produce News confirming that "the European Commission has adopted a decision against Dole and its German subsidiary, Dole Fresh Fruit Europe OHG. As stated in the European Commission's Oct. 15 press release, the commission's decision imposes fines against a number of E.U. banana importers, with its finding of certain anticompetitive information exchanges in the E.U. banana market. This fine follows commission investigations that began in June 2005 and a Statement of Objections issued on July 20, 2007."
Dole continued: "The commission's decision imposes a total fine of 45.6 million euro[s] against Dole. Under the commission's fining guidelines, Dole faced a potential fine of up to 10 percent of its worldwide revenues ($693 million). The company has not yet received the full text of the commission decision. The company believes that it has not violated the European competition laws, and it intends to appeal this decision and the fine imposed."
The EU statement indicated that the retail banana market was worth around $3.4 billion in the eight countries in 2002.
"It is totally unacceptable for companies to have rigged prices in this manner, and the companies concerned must learn the hard way that the commission will not tolerate such behavior," E.U. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in the statement.
The European Union started its investigation after Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. applied for immunity from the E.U.'s cartel rules in 2002, and European regulators raided the premises of several banana importers, the Associated Press reported.
Ed Loyd, Chiquita's manager of investor relations and corporate communications, told The Produce News Oct. 15, "The background of this is that Chiquita management learned in 2005 that certain Chiquita employees had been sharing pricing information with competitors. We did an internal investigation and stopped that and notified European authorities. Chiquita has since fully cooperated [in the investigation] and has been granted full immunity."
Mr. Loyd added, "I think that is the essence" of Chiquita's involvement in the European problem. "To be very clear, this did not occur in North America and had no impact on North American consumers or customers. The company believes [that] in Europe this had no impact on the price to customers."
Fyffes said that this followed an Oct. 15 European Commission announcement that it had concluded its investigation into the supply of bananas to the northern European region of the European Economic Area.
The Associated Press reported Oct. 15 that the European Union slapped an $82.9 million fine on the importers of Dole and Del Monte bananas, claiming they operated an illegal banana cartel.
The European Union said that Chiquita also joined the cartel that fixed prices for bananas in eight E.U. nations, but the American banana giant was not fined because it alerted officials to the scheme.
Dole Fresh Fruit Co., based in Westlake Village, CA, was fined $62.7 million for its role in the cartel, which operated from 2000 to 2002, the European Commission said in a statement.
Fyffes confirmed that its German joint venture, Internationale Fruchtimport Gesellschaft Weichert & Co KG, was notified by the European Commission that it has adopted a decision and finds Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. in Coral Gables, FL, and Weichert jointly liable for fines of $20.2 million for breaches of Article 81 of the Treaty of Rome and Article 53 of the European Economic Area Agreement relating to the supply of bananas to the Northern European region of the EEA, which includes Germany, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden, Finland and Denmark.
The European Union indicated that Del Monte was jointly liable for paying the Weichert fine since it controlled the company at the time of the infringement.
Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. indicated Oct. 15 in a statement that "following the commission's press release and midday briefing, Fresh Del Monte Produce understands that certain of its subsidiaries originally named by the commission were not found to have breached EU Competition Rules, and also that none of the company's employees has been found to have breached EU Competition Rules."
"Fresh Del Monte Produce confirms that a "14.7 million fine has been imposed on Internationale Fruchtimport Gesellschaft Weichert. &" Weichert, Del Monte added, "is a company in which Fresh Del Monte Produce indirectly held a non-controlling financial interest until December 2002. Weichert has been a subsidiary of Fyffes plc since January 2003. The commission holds Fresh Del Monte Produce jointly and severally liable for Weichert's conduct as a result of this financial interest. Fresh Del Monte Produce has not yet received the commission's decision and therefore is not able to comment on the commission's basis for asserting liability against the company as a result of Weichert's conduct. The company believes, however, that any assertion of liability based on an allegation that the company controlled Weichert would be without merit. Once the company has received the full decision, it will consider its options, including an action for annulment in the European Court of First Instance."
Dole Food Co. released a statement Oct. 15 to The Produce News confirming that "the European Commission has adopted a decision against Dole and its German subsidiary, Dole Fresh Fruit Europe OHG. As stated in the European Commission's Oct. 15 press release, the commission's decision imposes fines against a number of E.U. banana importers, with its finding of certain anticompetitive information exchanges in the E.U. banana market. This fine follows commission investigations that began in June 2005 and a Statement of Objections issued on July 20, 2007."
Dole continued: "The commission's decision imposes a total fine of 45.6 million euro[s] against Dole. Under the commission's fining guidelines, Dole faced a potential fine of up to 10 percent of its worldwide revenues ($693 million). The company has not yet received the full text of the commission decision. The company believes that it has not violated the European competition laws, and it intends to appeal this decision and the fine imposed."
The EU statement indicated that the retail banana market was worth around $3.4 billion in the eight countries in 2002.
"It is totally unacceptable for companies to have rigged prices in this manner, and the companies concerned must learn the hard way that the commission will not tolerate such behavior," E.U. Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said in the statement.
The European Union started its investigation after Cincinnati-based Chiquita Brands International Inc. applied for immunity from the E.U.'s cartel rules in 2002, and European regulators raided the premises of several banana importers, the Associated Press reported.
Ed Loyd, Chiquita's manager of investor relations and corporate communications, told The Produce News Oct. 15, "The background of this is that Chiquita management learned in 2005 that certain Chiquita employees had been sharing pricing information with competitors. We did an internal investigation and stopped that and notified European authorities. Chiquita has since fully cooperated [in the investigation] and has been granted full immunity."
Mr. Loyd added, "I think that is the essence" of Chiquita's involvement in the European problem. "To be very clear, this did not occur in North America and had no impact on North American consumers or customers. The company believes [that] in Europe this had no impact on the price to customers."
