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December 23rd, 2009

GERMANY: COFFEE GIANT TO PAY MULTI-MILION ANTITRUST FINE 23-12-2009

160-million-euro penalty for Tchibo, Melitta and Dallmayr: The competition authority has the big three coffee roasters convicted of illegal price fixing in a high fine. The supervisors identified in more than a year against the company – they should

160-million-euro penalty for Tchibo, Melitta and Dallmayr: The competition authority has the big three coffee roasters convicted of illegal price fixing in a high fine. The supervisors identified in more than a year against the company – they should have discussed it since 2000.

Illegal price fixing instead of competition: The Federal Cartel Office fines in a total of hundreds of millions to the coffee roaster Tchibo, Melitta and Dallmayr imposed. Companies would be on the level, extent and timing of notification and the entry into force of proposed price increases agreed with each other, the authority said on Monday.

Total fines in the amount of 159.5 million euro against the Tchibo GmbH in Hamburg, are the Melitta Kaffee GmbH in Bremen and Munich have been imposed Alois Dallmayr Kaffee oHG. According to the findings of the Federal Cartel Office, there were at least early 2000 to search the company in July 2008 talks between the executives and sales managers. It also proposed increases had been discussed.

Affected all the major products such as filter coffee, espresso and coffee. The agreements had a direct effect to the detriment of consumers, as the food, the price is usually passed on directly to them. Thus, the two alone in December 2004 and April 2005, announced price increases to a rise in consumer prices for roasted coffee and action from an average of more than one euro per 500 gram pack.

In July 2008, investigators had searched the offices of the three companies, later on more suspicious about this company in the industry. The price agreements are said to have taken place until the intervention of the authorities.

Source:Fortune 500 Global