Competition authorities have raided fresh produce companies in the Netherlands and Belgium as part of ongoing investigations into suspected price fixing, collusion and anti-competitive business practice.
The Dutch Competition Authority (NMa) confirmed that it had carried out unannounced investigations this week at eight major sales organisations involved in the growing and marketing of fresh fruit and vegetables, although it insisted that no company has as yet been found to be in breach of competition rules.
The eight companies which were raided include several of the country's major grower organisations: FresQ, Best Growers Benelux, Komosa, Fossa Eugenia, P8, K8, A8 and Combilo (part of Vers Direct Nederland).
The far-reaching investigation saw directors from all eight companies complete questionnaires relating to the groups' turnover, sales structure and working practices.
In addition to the unannounced visits, a large number of Holland's fresh produce companies have received a letter from the NMa asking for further information on their pricing structures. Individual members of the fresh produce trade are also said to be under investigation.
By collecting such information, the NMa aims to discover whether any such violation has occurred, although it pointed out that such investigations were common practice and did not necessarily indicate any wrongdoing had occurred.
'The fact that the NMa performs these unannounced visits does not explicitly mean that the companies in question have been guilty of anti-competitive behaviour and says nothing about the possible outcome of the investigation,' said a spokesperson for the authority.
Companies found to be in breach of competition rules can face penalties amounting to as much as 10 per cent of their global sales, while culpable individuals are subject to a maximum fine of €450,000.
With turnover estimated to be around €12bn per year, the Dutch fresh produce sector forms a key part of the country's agricultural economy.
However, growers in the country have seen prices fall to extremely low levels during the past year as the economic crisis has taken hold. 'This is a strange time for the authorities to level accusations of price-fixing, because the general feeling in the sector is that prices are very low and it has been very difficult for some of these companies to even cover their production costs,' said one insider. 'Why would anyone be fixing prices at these levels?'
Meanwhile, Belgian investigators from the Belgian Competition Authority have also conducted surprise searches over the past two days at a number of fresh produce auctions in Belgium, including Mechelse Veilingen and Hoogstraten, which are part of the marketing network LAVA.
Initial reports suggest the investigators are looking for evidence of a breach of competition rules, such as price-fixing, although few details have been made public.
'There was a search yesterday for signs of malpractice, or at least evidence of agreements made between the auctions on prices,” Veiling Hoogstraten’s Bram Vandecruys told Fruitnet.com. “However, nothing has yet come out of that investigation, and nothing has really been communicated to us.”
The searches come on the back of extremely low prices in Belgium for products such as cucumbers, tomatoes and bell peppers, and Mr Vandecruys says there is little confidence that these will pick up any time soon.
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