Brazil orange juice probe goes on
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/business/6176178.stm Version 0 of 1. Brazil's orange juice producers have failed to persuade anti-trust watchdogs to stop accusing them of price-fixing. The juice exporters' association, Abecitrus, had offered to pay 100 million reais ($46.3m; £24.2m) to settle a seven-year-old legal case. But the competition commission, Cade, rejected the offer, saying legal moves against the producers would continue. Orange growers allege that the juice processors conspire to pay them as little as possible for their produce. The growers, represented by the Associtrus association, say collusion by juice processing firms has cost them nearly $3bn over a 15-year period. The decision by Cade was welcomed by Associtrus president Flavio Veigas, who told the Reuters news agency: "It restores faith in the system." Top exporter Abecitrus made the offer to settle the case in August, stating that it did not imply liability. The association said 85% of the money would go towards setting up a fund to help small and medium-sized orange growers. In a BBC interview in September, Abecitrus president Ademerval Garcia said the case against the industry was unfounded and accused the Brazilian authorities of failing to understand market forces. In another development, Abecitrus said October exports of Brazilian orange juice had shown an increase of 23.85% compared with the same month last year. Exports rose from 135,432 tonnes in October 2005 to 167,739 tonnes last month. The EU remains the main market for Brazil's orange juice, which accounts for 48% of world supplies, while US producers have just 37% of the worldwide market. Last week, orange juice prices in New York rose to their highest level in 16 years, going over $2 a pound for the first time since 1990, although prices have since fallen back slightly. The continuing effects of last year's hurricane damage in Florida groves, as well as a more modest decline in Brazilian production, were to blame for the price rise. |