There EU Commission she spoke against the chocolate giant Mondelez and imposed a fine of one million euros on the chocolate manufacturer Milka.
The accusation is that it sells its products “artificially” expensive, i.e. with high prices imposed to purchasing groups with illegal practices.
Mondelēz International Inc., one of the largest food producers in the world and which also includes the Milka brand, was therefore fined by the EU to have violated the Union’s competition rules and engaged in anticompetitive agreements aimed at restricting cross-border trade. Furthermore, you have been accused of abusing your dominant position in some national markets in the sale of chocolate bars.
Milka fined by the EU, why does it have to pay 337 million euros?
According to investigations by the EU Commission, the chocolate giant Mondelez has been distorting competition for years and making its products artificially more expensive. For this reason, the authorities today imposed a fine on the company fine of 337.5 million eurosas announced by the competition authorities.
Mondelez produces a number of popular products including Milka, Toblerone, Daim, Oreo, Mikado, Philadelphia and Tuc chocolate. The Commission accuses the group of wanting prevent cross-border trade between countries with different prices. “These illegal practices have allowed Mondelez to continue to charge higher prices for its products, ultimately to the detriment of EU consumers”according to the EU.
The Executive Vice President and Head of EU Competition Margrethe Vestager recalled how food prices differ from one Member State to another – “for chocolate from 10 to 40%” – and underlined that “Trade across Member State borders in the internal market can lower prices and increase the availability of products for consumers. This is especially important in times of high inflation”.
In January 2021 the EU Commission had already opened an official procedure. The authority has now revealed that Mondelez has been involved in 22 anti-competitive agreements or concerted practices. For example, one agreement required Mondelez customers to apply higher prices for exports compared to national sales. “These agreements and concerted practices took place between 2012 and 2019 and affected all EU markets”the Commission said.
Furthermore, Mondelez refused to provide a broker in Germany. The US company wanted to prevent the resale of chocolate bars in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania because prices were lower in Germany.
In reality the penalty should have been even higher. Because Mondelez cooperated with the European Commission and expressly acknowledged its responsibility, the company was granted a waiver of 15% of the fine, according to the competition watchdog.
