July 16, 2014

Germany's sausage-makers fined for price-fixing 

Germany's competition authority has imposed fines totalling €388 million (US$526.21 million) on a cartel of 22 sausage makers and 33 individuals for colluding to fix prices, reported the Telegraph.

The companies had been allegedly meeting for decades as part of the so-called 'Atlantic Circle' but the discussions had become "concrete agreements" to raise prices in 2003.

The companies include Boeklunder, Wiesenhog and Herta, a subsidiary of Nestle. Eleven companies had cooperated fully with the investigation, but one group, Zur-Mühlen, denied the allegations and announced it would appeal against the decision.
 

The total penalties are among the highest imposed in the Federal Cartel Office's history. The body said the high fine was put in perspective by the number of companies involved, the length of the cartel's operation, and the revenue they gained. The "concrete agreements" to collectively raise prices on products such as cooked sausage and ham dated back to a decade.