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News > Deals
Del Monte buys into Europe
January 14, 1999: 2:40 p.m. ET

Fresh Del Monte buys Belgian banana marketer, to boost European presence
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - In an effort to boost its presence in the restrictive European market, Fresh Del Monte Produce agreed Thursday to buy a Belgian banana marketer for an undisclosed amount.
     Fresh Del Monte (FDP), the nation's third-largest banana producer, said its purchase of Banana Marketing Belgium N.V. (BMB) will increase its European sales by about 10 percent.
     The company also wrapped up a long-term banana purchase agreement with a subsidiary of C.I. Banacol S.A., a significant producer of bananas. Fresh Del Monte's newly acquired company (BMB), was Banacol's exclusive marketing company in Europe.
     "This acquisition and banana purchase agreement are part of our continued efforts to identify strategic opportunities to help enhance Fresh Del Monte," said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, company chairman and chief executive. "This investment allows us to increase our banana marketing and distribution in Europe, as well as increase our banana import licenses in Europe."
     Shares of Fresh Del Monte were up 3/16 at 19-1/2 on the New York Stock Exchange Thursday afternoon.
     Fresh Del Monte noted the acquisition will not enable it to sidestep the EU's restrictive banana import laws, nor provide it easier access to the European market.
     U.S. banana growers estimate those restrictions cost the industry more than $1 billion a year.
     Washington has threatened to retaliate against EU's "discriminatory" banana import laws by imposing 100 percent tariffs on a variety of EU products if the dispute is not settled.
     The United States said this week it is prepared to ask the World Trade Organization (WTO) on Jan. 25 to approve hefty sanctions against goods from the European Union.
     The EU has denounced Washington's threat of trade sanctions as unjustified and accused the U.S. of stepping outside the boundaries of fair WTO dispute resolution practices.
     At issue are the restrictive banana import laws implemented by the European community in the late 1980s. The EU is the world's largest banana market, estimated to be worth $5 billion a year on the retail level.
     Under Europe's current import laws, banana growers in the former African, Caribbean and Pacific colonies of France and the United Kingdom are given easier access to the EU market.
     As an example, Chiquita said it held roughly 40 percent of the EU banana import market before the restrictive import system was adopted in 1992. Now, it says its market share plunged to less than 20 percent.
     The World Trade Organization, acting on complaints from the U.S. and a group of Latin American countries, ruled last year that the EU rules violate international trade laws.
     The EU says its new policies, geared to open up banana import laws early next year, comply with WTO orders. The Clinton administration disagrees. Back to top

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Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.