The European Commission carried out a number of anti-trust raids at the premises of various producers and importers of exotic fresh fruits between Wednesday and Friday last week.

In a statement, the commission said it had reason to believe that the companies concerned may have violated EC Treaty rules on cartels and restrictive business practices.

The commission officials were accompanied on the unannounced inspections by their counterparts from the national competition authorities concerned.

Surprise inspections are a preliminary step in investigations into suspected cartels, but do not mean that the companies are guilty of anti-competitive behaviour and do not pre-determine the outcome of the actual investigation. Cartel investigations may see companies charged with anti-trust abuse and eventually fined up to 10 per cent of global turnover.

In July, banana importers Fyffes plc, Dole Food Co Inc and Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc said they had received an EU charge sheet accusing them of running an illegal cartel to fix prices and control the supply of the fruit to northern Europe.

Chiquita instigated the investigation by bringing information to light that saw it win conditional immunity from fines. The firm said it discovered two years ago that some employees had shared pricing and volume information for Europe, which accounts for half of its global banana sales.

According to Reuters, Chiquita Brands International said in an e-mailed statement that the commission had requested additional information and documents from the US company last week in relation to this competition investigation.

A company spokesman was not available to comment on whether Chiquita was targeted in the raids or not, while Dole Food Co declined to make a statement to Reuters.

However, Fyffes has denied any involvement with the latest bout of raids. “We have not been raided,” a Fyffes spokesman said in a statement.

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