Antitrust authorities in South Africa have said there is no further action to be taken against fats and oil supplier Sime Darby, over its activities involving alleged collusion with Unilever in the manufacture and supply of edible oils and margarine.
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However, the Commission has since clarified “there is no further settlement to be concluded” with regards to Sime Derby, because the company had previously admitted to breaching competition laws.
A Commission spokesperson apologised for the “confusion” in its recent announcement. Sime Derby “as second respondent have settled the matter and their settlement was confirmed on 20 July 2016”, the spokesperson added.
According to the spokesperson, Sime Derby agreed to pay an administrative penalty of ZAR35m (US$2.7m), which the Commission said was less than 10% of the firm’s annual turnover for the year ended February 2012, in addition to other measures regarding its future conduct.
The Commission said previously that both companies had “entered into a sale of business agreement, which contained a clause in terms of which they agreed not to compete with each other in respect of certain pack sizes of margarine and edible oils”, in contravention of competition laws.
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By GlobalDataA spokesperson for Unilever told just-food: “As this matter is subject to litigation, we will not be commenting on it.”
