The takeover – or as they call it themselves: integration – of the Belgische Fruitveiling (BFV) (Belgian Fruit Auction) by auction organisation BelOrta has come another step nearer. In early April, 86% of the 430 BFV members agreed to joining BelOrta. With this the condition was met set by BelOrta that at least 75% of BFV members should join BelOrta for the proposed merger to be allowed to continue. A not unimportant element and a big stick was the members’ capital that BFV members had built up in their corporation. Only growers that would switch to BelOrta, would maintain their claim to this capital. This concerns an estimated € 25,000 to € 30,000 per member. Growers who would not join, would lose their claim to this capital.
With their choice for BelOrta growers commit themselves for a period of 6 years to the auction organisation. The aim remains to be able to start fully operational by 1 July 2023 at the latest. The management expects the competition authorities to approve of the integration. The high percentage of BFV members switching to BelOrta, is also good news for BFV employees. All BFV employees and its subsidiaries can start work at the new organisation. (Source: press release BelOrta / Vilt.be)
