The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has thrown out another case brought by banana importers claiming damages against the European Commission because of the European Union’s (EU) 2001 banana trading regime.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more


The German and Italian subsidiaries of US fruit giant Dole, (Dole Fresh Fruit Europe Ltd & Co. and Italy’s Comafrica SpA) claimed the regulation gave unfair preferential access to Caribbean suppliers and so broke European law.


Dismissing this claim, the ECJ’s Court of First Instance also found the applicants “demonstrated a total lack of seriousness and rigour in their calculation of the loss of entitlement to import certain quantities of bananas in 2001”. It told the companies to pay their own and the Commission’s costs.

Just Food Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Just Food Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Winning five categories in the 2025 Just Food Excellence Awards, Centric Software is setting the pace for digital transformation in food and FMCG. Explore how its integrated PLM and PXM suite delivers faster launches, smarter compliance and data-driven growth for complex, multi-channel product portfolios.

Discover the Impact