Brussels, 03/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Friday 20 November, the European Commission confirmed that it had carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of various producers and importers of fresh exotic fruits. The Commission suspects anti-competitive behaviour, particularly on banana prices (EUROPE 9479). The US company, Chiquita Brands International, confirmed that it was discussing competition questions with the European Commission but did not indicate whether the company had been targeted by inspections. According to the Reuters agency, Dole Food Co did not want to comment. The Irish distributor of fresh fruit, Fyffes Plc, affirmed that it had been affected by these surprise inspections. (C.D.)