The Competition Commission has today, 24 March 2017, extended its search and seizure operation - involving fresh produce market agents - to premises in Cape Town and Durban.
This follows a search and seizure operation carried out at premises of nine fruit and veg agents in Pretoria and Johannesburg fresh produce markets yesterday.
In Cape Town, the Commission is raiding the premises of Subtropico (Pty) Ltd (Subtropico); RSA Group (Pty) Ltd; and Fine Bros (Pty) Ltd (Fine Bros). In Durban, the Commission is also executing a search and seizure warrant at premises of RSA Group; Wenpro KZN (Pty) Ltd; and Delta Market Agents (Pty) Ltd (Delta).
The search and seizure operations are part of an investigation into alleged cartel conduct which was reported by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The agents, which serve as intermediaries between farmers and buyers of freshly produced fruits and vegetables in South Africa, are suspected of being involved in cartel conduct in contravention of the Competition Act.
The Commission has reasonable grounds to believe that the agents entered into an agreement and/or engaged in a concerted practice to fix the price and trading conditions for the supply of freshly produced fruits and vegetables in South Africa. This conduct is alleged to be ongoing and is in contravention of the provisions of section 4(1)(b)(i) of the Competition Act.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Sipho Ngwema
Tel: 012 394 3493
Cell: 078 048 1213/081 253 8889
E-mail: SiphoN@compcom.co.za
