Chilean fruit exporters have allegedly filed a lawsuit for a “systematic succession of abuses” before the Court of Defense of Free Competition (TDLC) against the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), it was reported in Santiago.
Allegedly MSC has been accused by 23 Chilean fruit exporting companies of deliberately delaying shipments and applying extra charges resulting in losses of US$ 38 million. The fruit growers claim they have experienced a “continuous and systematic succession of abuses” during the 2021-2022 export season reported en.mercopress.com
FreshPlaza contacted MSC who said they could not comment as they had not been formally served.
According to Diario Financiero, the lawsuit details practices such as deliberate cargo delays and unjustified charges by the shipping company, which affected 994 containers on more than 20 different routes, representing some 16,000 tons of fruit.
The lawyers representing the Chilean companies said their clients booked their cargo slots months in advance of the export season, but once maritime rates began to rise due to the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions, the shipping company decided to prioritize other routes, thus setting aside previous engagements.
“MSC, leveraged on the contracts it had closed, and with the certainty that it would continue to obtain the income from such contracts, deliberately chose to exploit other businesses to the detriment of our clients, altering the routes and the number of stops on the routes required by them, which it was able to do without any counterweight or risk of being disciplined, only because of the captive situation in which they found themselves,” argued the fruit exporters through their legal advisers.