Grieg Seafood Shetland raided by EU inspectors

A major salmon farming organisation with a Shetland branch has been raided by European inspectors investigating alleged illegal cartels.

Grieg Seafood has released a statement insisting it was unaware of any anti-competitive behaviour and was co-operating with officials.

It comes after the Norwegian-owned company was inspected by officials from the European Commission as part of an EU-wide probe.

The company is the largest salmon farmer in the isles and has activities in the complete value chain from hatcheries to grow-out and processing.

The operation in Shetland has an estimated production capacity of around 22,000 tonnes gutted weight. It employs 166 people in the three departments.

In a statement Grieg’s global communications manager Kristina Furnes said: “We have been informed that The European Commission DG (Director General) Competition are active in the UK, exploring potential anti-competitive behaviour in the salmon industry.

“The salmon market is very competitive and we are not aware of any anti-competitive behaviour. We are fully co-operating with the European Commission DG Competition’s investigation.

“Any further questions about the investigation should be directed to The European Commission DG Competition.”