ACCOUNTED FOR BY THE SPECIFIC FEATURES OF THE BANANA AND ALL THE FACTORS WHICH INFLUENCE CONSUMER CHOICE .
31THE BANANA HAS CERTAIN CHARACTERISTICS , APPEARANCE , TASTE , SOFTNESS , SEEDLESSNESS , EASY HANDLING , A CONSTANT LEVEL OF PRODUCTION WHICH ENABLE IT TO SATISFY THE CONSTANT NEEDS OF AN IMPORTANT SECTION OF THE POPULATION CONSISTING OF THE VERY YOUNG , THE OLD AND THE SICK .
32AS FAR AS PRICES ARE CONCERNED TWO FAO STUDIES SHOW THAT THE BANANA IS ONLY AFFECTED BY THE PRICES - FALLING PRICES - OF OTHER FRUITS ( AND ONLY OF PEACHES AND TABLE GRAPES ) DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS AND MAINLY IN JULY AND THEN BY AN AMOUNT NOT EXCEEDING 20% .
33ALTHOUGH IT CANNOT BE DENIED THAT DURING THESE MONTHS AND SOME WEEKS AT THE END OF THE YEAR THIS PRODUCT IS EXPOSED TO COMPETITION FROM OTHER FRUITS , THE FLEXIBLE WAY IN WHICH THE VOLUME OF IMPORTS AND THEIR MARKETING ON THE RELEVANT GEOGRAPHIC MARKET IS ADJUSTED MEANS THAT THE CONDITIONS OF COMPETITION ARE EXTREMELY LIMITED AND THAT ITS PRICE ADAPTS WITHOUT ANY SERIOUS DIFFICULTIES TO THIS SITUATION WHERE SUPPLIES OF FRUIT ARE PLENTIFUL .
34IT FOLLOWS FROM ALL THESE CONSIDERATIONS THAT A VERY LARGE NUMBER OF CONSUMERS HAVING A CONSTANT NEED FOR BANANAS ARE NOT NOTICEABLY OR EVEN APPRECIABLY ENTICED AWAY FROM THE CONSUMPTION OF THIS PRODUCT BY THE ARRIVAL OF OTHER FRESH FRUIT ON THE MARKET AND THAT EVEN THE PERSONAL PEAK PERIODS ONLY AFFECT IT FOR A LIMITED PERIOD OF TIME AND TO A VERY LIMITED EXTENT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF SUBSTITUTABILITY .
35CONSEQUENTLY THE BANANA MARKET IS A MARKET WHICH IS SUFFICIENTLY DISTINCT FROM THE OTHER FRESH FRUIT MARKETS .
PARAGRAPH 2 . THE GEOGRAPHIC MARKET
36THE COMMISSION HAS TAKEN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY , DENMARK , IRELAND , THE NETHERLANDS AND THE BLEU AS THE GEOGRAPHIC MARKET AND IT IS IN RESPECT OF THIS MARKET THAT IT IS NECESSARY TO CONSIDER WHETHER UBC HAS THE POWER TO HINDER EFFECTIVE COMPETITION .
37IT TAKES THE VIEW THAT THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN THIS PART OF THE COMMUNITY ALLOW IMPORTER/DISTRIBUTORS OF BANANAS TO MARKET THEIR PRODUCTS THERE IN THE ORDINARY COURSE WITHOUT THERE BEING ANY SIGNIFICANT ECONOMIC BARRIERS FOR UBC TO OVERCOME COMPARED WITH OTHER IMPORTER/DISTRIBUTORS .
38THE OTHER MEMBER STATES OF THE COMMUNITY ( FRANCE , ITALY , THE UNITED KINGDOM ) MUST HOWEVER BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS GEOGRAPHIC DEFINITION OF THE MARKET NOTWITHSTANDING THE SIGNIFICANT PRESENCE OF UBC IN THESE STATES , BECAUSE OF THE SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES RELATING TO IMPORT ARRANGEMENTS AND TRADING CONDITIONS AND THE FACT THAT BANANAS OF VARIOUS TYPES AND ORIGIN ARE SOLD THERE .
39THE APPLICANT POINTS OUT THAT THE GEOGRAPHIC MARKET WHERE AN UNDERTAKING ' S ECONOMIC AND COMMERCIAL POWER IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION SHOULD ONLY COMPRISE AREAS WHERE THE CONDITIONS OF COMPETITION ARE HOMOGENEOUS .
40ALTHOUGH THE COMMISSION HAD GOOD REASON TO EXCLUDE FRANCE , ITALY AND THE UNITED KINGDOM FROM THE SAID MARKET IT FAILED TO TAKE