Competition authorities take action
Chocolate too expensive – Milka’s mother has to pay a million-dollar fine
23.05.2024, 12:23
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Chocolate, cookies and coffee – Mondelez is a true chocolate giant and is represented on the EU market with prominent brands such as Milka and Oreo. However, the company is said to have kept the prices for its products high across borders – and now has to pay a hefty fine for it.
The EU Commission has imposed a fine of 337.5 million euros on the US food giant Mondelez for unlawful restrictions on competition in the trade in chocolate, cookies and coffee. The commission said the company had hindered cross-border trade in its products, thereby causing excessively high prices for brands such as Milka, Oreo and Tuc. The authority has now announced that Mondelez was involved in 22 anti-competitive agreements or concerted practices.
According to the EU competition authorities, the company prevented its trading partners from buying Mondelez products cheaply in one EU country and then reselling them in another. “Mondelez did this to keep the prices of its products high to the detriment of consumers,” said EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.
Especially in times of high inflation, so-called parallel trade is particularly important for reducing prices on the European market, Vestager stressed. Mondelez exploited its market power to force illegal agreements on traders and thus violated the rules of the EU market. The penalty relates to violations in numerous EU countries between 2006 and 2020.
In addition, Mondelez refused to supply a broker in Germany. The US company wanted to prevent the resale of chocolate bar products in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania because the prices were cheaper in Germany.
Mondelez is one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in the world with brands such as Milka, Oreo and Philadelphia and sales of more than 36 billion dollars (33 billion euros). The fine imposed is the highest penalty imposed to date by the EU Commission against a food company and is one of the ten highest penalties overall.