France’s competition authority has fined French and German flour producers for operating a cartel that worked to fix the selling price of flour in the country.

French firm France Farine and German group Bach Muhle were fined a total of EUR147m for colluding to manipulate the price of flour and production levels in France for flour sold in supermarkets, the authority said.

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Meanwhile, a separate cartel formed of 13 French and German millers was fined EUR95m for limiting imports of flour between France and Germany. This cartel had been in operation between 2002 and 2008, the competition body revealed.

The watchdog estimated that the cartels’ actions resulted in French consumers paying an 11% premium for flour in supermarkets.

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