La Compagnie Fruitière de Marseille, a company between the leaders in the production, transport and distribution of fruit and vegetables from Africa and the Caribbean region and Pacifico, won the tender for the management of the port French of Port-Vendres, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department, which is located on the part of the Mediterranean coast close to the border with Spain. Yesterday, in fact, the Council of the Department of the Pyrénées-Orientales, which exercises mergers of authority port of Port-Vendres, has approved the award of the 15-year concession contract for management of the port of call to the consortium Compagnie Port-Vendraise, the only one subject to having submitted a tender, which is participated in the 75% from Transit Fruit, a company of the Compagnie group Fruitière which carries out transport services with the ships of the Africa Express Line (AEL), also part of the group Marseillaise, 20% from the Chamber of Commerce of the Pyrénées-Orientales and 5% by the Société d'aide au financement du développement industriel (SAFIDI) of the EDF French group (Electricité de France).

The companies currently present in the port French operate under concession contracts that will all expire by December 31st. The new contract provides that the consortium is entrusted with the management of activities commercial, recreational and fishing of the port.

Compagnie Fruitière is currently the only customer of the commercial area of the port, which is the second hub port French for fruit and vegetable traffic and is active also in the boating, cruise and peach. The Compagnie Fruitière project for the development of port, which includes an investment by the Council departmental for the construction of a third quay from use for the company's trades, has been strongly contested by the local community and organizations environmentalists both for the impact it would have on the environment and on the tourism, due to the destruction of a beach and buildings historians, both for what has been called a massacre useless since the current two commercial docks accommodate a only ship per week. Furthermore, it has been disputed that the economic return for the local community would be minimal given that the Departmental Council, in addition to 27 million spent on the construction of the quay, would invest another 14 in the project, to revenue for the Department paid by the concessionaire which in the first years would amount to 140 thousand euros per year, double figure respect - as recalled by the Departmental Council - to the 70 thousand current euro.

During the debate in the Council, recalled that the port generates 620 direct jobs and indirect and constitutes one of the major pillars of the economy of the Municipality of Port-Vendres. It was also pointed out that the investment plan is well defined and provides for expenses for total 23.85 million euro, of which 9.68 million with funds own of the dealer.

In addition to Port-Vendres, the group's traffic in Europe Compagnie Fruitière pass mainly through the Belgian port of Antwerp, the Italian port of Vado Ligure and the port English from Portsmouth.