UBC SINCE 1971 TO CUSTOMERS OF GERMANY , THE NETHERLANDS AND THE BLEU AND WAS EXTENDED AT THE BEGINNING OF 1973 TO CUSTOMERS IN DENMARK AND IN NOVEMBER 1973 TO CUSTOMERS IN IRELAND .
227ALTHOUGH THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ESTABLISHING THE SINGLE BANANA MARKET DOES NOT LIE WITH THE APPLICANT , IT CAN ONLY ENDEAVOUR TO TAKE ' ' WHAT THE MARKET CAN BEAR ' ' PROVIDED THAT IT COMPLIES WITH THE RULES FOR THE REGULATION AND COORDINATION OF THE MARKET LAID DOWN BY THE TREATY .
228ONCE IT CAN BE GRASPED THAT DIFFERENCES IN TRANSPORT COSTS , TAXATION , CUSTOMS DUTIES , THE WAGES OF THE LABOUR FORCE , THE CONDITIONS OF MARKETING , THE DIFFERENCES IN THE PARITY OF CURRENCIES , THE DENSITY OF COMPETITION MAY EVENTUALLY CULMINATE IN DIFFERENT RETAIL SELLING PRICE LEVELS ACCORDING TO THE MEMBER STATES , THEN IT FOLLOWS THOSE DIFFERENCES ARE FACTORS WHICH UBC ONLY HAS TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT TO A LIMITED EXTENT SINCE IT SELLS A PRODUCT WHICH IS ALWAYS THE SAME AND AT THE SAME PLACE TO RIPENER/DISTRIBUTORS WHO - ALONE - BEAR THE RISKS OF THE CONSUMERS ' MARKET .
229THE INTERPLAY OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND SHOULD , OWING TO ITS NATURE , ONLY BE APPLIED TO EACH STAGE WHERE IT IS REALLY MANIFEST .
230THE MECHANISMS OF THE MARKET ARE ADVERSELY AFFECTED IF THE PRICE IS CALCULATED BY LEAVING OUT ONE STAGE OF THE MARKET AND TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE LAW OF SUPPLY AND DEMAND AS BETWEEN THE VENDOR AND THE ULTIMATE CONSUMER AND NOT AS BETWEEN THE VENDOR ( UBC ) AND THE PURCHASER ( THE RIPENER/DISTRIBUTORS ).
231THUS , BY REASON OF ITS DOMINANT POSITION UBC , FED WITH INFORMATION BY ITS LOCAL REPRENSENTATIVES , WAS IN FACT ABLE TO IMPOSE ITS SELLING PRICE ON THE INTERMEDIATE PURCHASER . THIS PRICE AND ALSO THE ' ' WEEKLY QUOTA ALLOCATED ' ' IS ONLY FIXED AND NOTIFIED TO THE CUSTOMER FOUR DAYS BEFORE THE VESSEL CARRYING THE BANANAS BERTHS .
232THESE DISCRIMINATORY PRICES , WHICH VARIED ACCORDING TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE MEMBER STATES , WERE JUST SO MANY OBSTACLES TO THE FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS AND THEIR EFFECT WAS INTENSIFIED BY THE CLAUSE FORBIDDING THE RESALE OF BANANAS WHILE STILL GREEN AND BY REDUCING THE DELIVERIES OF THE QUANTITIES ORDERED .
233A RIGID PARTITIONING OF NATIONAL MARKETS WAS THUS CREATED AT PRICE LEVELS , WHICH WERE ARTIFICIALLY DIFFERENT , PLACING CERTAIN DISTRIBUTOR/RIPENERS AT A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE , SINCE COMPARED WITH WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN COMPETITION HAD THEREBY BEEN DISTORTED .
234CONSEQUENTLY THE POLICY OF DIFFERING PRICES ENABLING UBC TO APPLY DISSIMILAR CONDITIONS TO EQUIVALENT TRANSACTIONS WITH OTHER TRADING PARTIES , THEREBY PLACING THEM AT A COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGE , WAS AN ABUSE OF A DOMINANT POSITION .
PARAGRAPH 2 . UNFAIR PRICES
235THE COMMISSION IS OF THE OPINION THAT UBC HAS ALSO ABUSED ITS DOMINANT POSITION BY CHARGING ITS CUSTOMERS IN GERMANY ( OTHER THAN THE SCIPIO GROUP ), DENMARK , THE NETHERLANDS AND THE BLEU UNFAIR