Germany’s competition watchdog has said rising commodity costs could have allegedly forced chocolate producers in the country to fix prices.
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The Bundeskartellamt, Germany’s Federal Cartel Office, raided seven chocolate manufacturers last week as part of an investigation into alleged collusion.
A spokesperson for the watchdog told just-food today (11 February) that officials had launched the raids at dawn on Thursday after receiving a tip-off within the industry.
“We had sufficient information to suspect that there has been price collusion between the companies,” the spokesperson said. She declined to name the watchdog’s source.
The cartel office believes the rising cost of ingredients including cocoa and milk may have led chocolate makers to increase their prices.
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By GlobalData“We suspect that there was collusion over a price increase at the beginning of 2008,” the spokesperson added. “It makes sense that, when you see prices of raw materials rise, you raise your prices together – but it is not an excuse.”
She declined to name the chocolate manufacturers under investigation but said that, if found guilty, the firms could face fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover.
Reports in Germany named companies including Nestle, Mars and Kraft as companies under investigation. Officials at the chocolate makers could not be reached for immediate comment.
