The European Commission fined Coroos and Groupe CECAB a total of 31.647 million Euro for breaching European competition rules. Bonduelle has not been fined for revealing the existence of the cartel to the European Commission. The European Commission states that Bonduelle, Coroos and Groupe CECAB participated in a cartel for more than 13 years for the supply of certain types of canned vegetables to retailers and catering establishments in the European Economic Area. The 3 companies have acknowledged their involvement in the cartel and have agreed to a settlement.
The purpose of the three companies involved in the cartel was to secure or strengthen their position on the market, to maintain or increase selling prices, to reduce uncertainty regarding their future commercial behaviour and to agreeing and controlling sales and trade to their advantage. To achieve this goal, the companies set prices, agreed market shares and volume quotas, shared customers and markets, coordinated their offers in tenders and exchanged commercially sensitive information. The infringement covered the entire European Economic Area and lasted from January 19, 2000 to June 11, 2013 for Bonduelle, and until October 1, 2013 for Coroos and Groupe CECAB.
Three agreements
The European Commission's investigation showed that there was a single infringement consisting of three separate agreements:
- An agreement concerning private label sales of canned vegetables such as green beans, green peas, green peas and carrots and cut vegetables to retailers in Europe;
- An agreement concerning private label sales of maize preserves to retailers in Europe;
- An agreement concerning both sales under own brand and private label sales of canned vegetables to retailers and to the hospitality sector specifically in France.
Case against Conserve Italia is still ongoing
Coroos only participated in the first agreement, while Bonduelle and Groupe CECAB participated in the 3 agreements. As part of the same investigation, the European Commission opened proceedings against a fourth company, Conserve Italia. This settlement decision does not concern Conserve Italia and the investigation will therefore be continued for this company according to the standard cartel procedure.
Lower fines
Under the European Commission's 2006 Leniency Notice, Bonduelle has been granted full immunity to disclose the existence of the cartel, thereby avoiding a fine of around 250 million Euro. Coroos and Groupe CECAB have received reductions in their fines for their cooperation in the investigation. In addition, the European Commission has reduced the fines by 10% because they have recognised their participation in the cartel and their liability in this regard.
Source: European Commission