The EU imposes an antitrust fine of EUR 338 million on Oreo manufacturer Mondelez – DW – 23/05/2024

The European Union has imposed a fine of 337.5 million euros ($366 million) on Mondelez, the US confectionery giant behind companies including Toblerone, Oreo, Cadbury and Milka, for anti-competitive behavior.

EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager accused Mondelez of “restricting cross-border trade in chocolate, biscuits and coffee products within the European Union.”

“This harmed consumers who ended up paying more for chocolate, biscuits and coffee,” she told reporters in Brussels.

“This case concerns food prices. This is a key issue for European citizens, and even more so in times of very high inflation, when many of them are facing a cost of living crisis.”

Mondelez, formerly known as Kraft, is one of the world’s largest producers of chocolate, cookies and coffee. It reported revenue of 33 billion euros ($36 billion) last year.

What are the accusations against Mondelez?

The European Commission accused Mondelez of preventing traders from selling products between EU member states between 2015 and 2019, despite the bloc maintaining a single market that is supposed to guarantee the free flow of goods.

It pointed to 22 examples in which Mondelez was found to have engaged in anti-competitive agreements or concerted practices.

In one case, Mondelez was accused of withdrawing chocolate bars from the Netherlands to prevent them from being resold in Belgium, where they were selling at higher prices.

Mondelez was also accused of refusing to supply a trader in Germany to prevent the chocolate from being resold in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania “where prices were higher”.

What did Mondelez say?

The fine announced on Thursday is the ninth largest antitrust fine ever imposed by the EU. However, Mondelez said that “no further measures will be necessary to fund the penalty.”

The company also said the fine was related to “historical, isolated incidents, most of which stopped or were remedied well before the Commission’s investigation.”

“Many of these incidents were related to business transactions with brokers, which are typically conducted through sporadic and often one-off sales and a limited number of small distributors developing new business in EU markets where Mondelez has no presence or no relevant product launch.” – Mondelez said in a statement.

zc/rc (AFP, AP)