U.S. company Chiquita Brands and Irish peer Fyffes secured European Union regulatory approval on Friday for their $526 million tie-up to create the world’s largest banana producer. The combined company would have a 14 percent share of the $7 billion global banana market and significant bargaining power with retailers. The European Commission said the deal would not hurt consumers or supermarkets with their own private label bananas but there was a risk competitors could be shut out by shipping companies. To address this concern, it said the companies would have to refrain from exclusivity deals with shipping companies and must not provide incentives to shippers to stop carrying rival fruit, in return for its approval of the deal. The companies said the shipping pledge, which is valid for 10 years, would have no impact on the economic value of the deal or proposed synergies. Reuters had reported on Sept. 24 that the deal would be cleared with conditions. Fyffes last week agreed to increase Chiquita’s share of the merged company to block a competing $611 million joint offer from Brazilian juice maker Grupo Cutrale and Safra Group, the banking and investment group. Chiquita has postponed a shareholder vote on the Fyffes deal to Oct. 3 from Sept. 17 while it talks to the rival bidders. (Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin in Dublin; Editing by Barbara Lewis and Pravin Char)