Brussels, 18/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Union has blamed Chiquita for the difficulties the banana multinational is currently going through. It explained on Thursday that the American giant could easily have enjoyed the particularly stable and profitable outlet afforded by Europe. "The European market is the only market in the world where banana producers have been able to generate profits over the past few years", stressed the Commission spokesman. "If there is a market where Chiquita could have made a great deal of money, it is in Europe", he said, before going on to add that "its competitors are, moreover, making a great deal of money". According to the same sources, an analysis of the situation of companies developing on the same market and in comparable conditions, such as Dole or Del Monte, proves that the current situation of Chiquita cannot be attributed to the European banana import regime.
In a press release published in Paris on Wednesday, Chiquita Brands International felt that the common regime established in 1993 for banana imports to Europe, had cost it more than $1.5 billion in total, making it lose the first place that it held up till then on that market.