Belgium's competition authority has ordered Port Real Estate, a warehouse operator at Antwerp port, to maintain a minimum volume for loading out certified robusta coffee, it said on Friday. The Competition Council of Belgium ordered Port Real Estate to load out an average of 500 tonnes of robusta coffee per working day, divided equally among all clients, and said these interim measures would be in force until at least June 30 next year.
Port Real Estate was not immediately available for comment. The measures follow a complaint made at the end of last year by UK-based cocoa, coffee and sugar trade house Armajaro Trading that Port Real Estate loads out Liffe certified robusta coffee at an "unreasonably low" pace, the council said.
The judgement is an interim measure while the council investigates the merits of the complaint by Armajaro Trading, a spokesman for the council said. The spokesman said the investigation should finish in about a year. Richard Ryan, chief executive of Armajaro Trading, said, "We're pleased that the Belgian competition authority has agreed to our request to impose provisional measures against Port Real Estate and to further investigate the slow delivery of coffee from their warehouses." Earlier this month industry sources said global exchange NYSE Liffe planned to regulate warehouse load out rates for certified robusta coffee as delivery delays had frustrated trade houses and roasters in Europe.
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