Tetra Pak will also inform the authorities that all discount payments have gone to companies as directed by Parmalat.
As we reported yesterday, Fausto Tonna, the former Parmalat chief financial officer now under arrest, said that over seven years, some €70 million was paid to Parmalat in Tetra Pak discounts.
These payments rose sharply in recent years, from €5 to €6 million a year from 1996 to 1999 to €15 million in 2000 and €30m in 2001 - when a third of the discounts were paid directly to the Tanzi family, and the other two-thirds to a Parmalat subsidiary, claimed Tonna.
Tetra Pak denies any wrong-doing. It claims that Parmalat, as a major customer for many years, benefited from marketing support and discounts on packaging material. The discounts to Parmalat, it says, are similar to those that benefit other large customers.
According to the Tetra Pak statement, average sales to Parmalat have been €224.4 million per year between 1995 and 2003. On average, the discounts paid from central units have been approximately €12.2 million per year during the same period, or an average about 5.4 per cent per year.
In addition, Tetra Pak says that having reviewed its discount payments to Parmalat since 1995, it cannot identify any payments knowingly made directly to either the Tanzi family or any other individuals. The company claims that payments have always been made to companies identified by Parmalat.