Producers at the Phalempin market in northern France have strongly contested the decision of the competition authority, which has just fined the chicory producer organisation for price-fixing.
The penalty is a particularly heavy one for the Phalempin market, which has been handed a fine of almost €1.2m, according to Végétable.
Producers have sought to remind the competition authority that the chicory segment has been in crisis for a decade, with growers receiving an average price of €0.74 per kilo and only €0.68 in 2011, and with domestic production falling by 20 per cent in the last six years.
Meanwhile, over the last 10 years, consumers have been purchasing chicory at an average price of €2.20 per kilo, leading producers to question who exactly has stood to benefit from this so-called price-fixing.
Producers from the Phalempin market have signalled their intention to stage a protest in Paris along with other producers in the Nord Pas de Calais region.
