European Union antitrust regulators have fined French frozen and canned vegetable producer Bonduelle and Dutch peer Prochamp a total of 32.2 million euros ($43.78 million) for fixing prices of canned mushrooms.
Bonduelle took the biggest hit with a 30.2 million euro penalty while Prochamp’s came to 2 million euros. The two companies admitted wrongdoing in return for a 10 percent cut in their fines. Dutch producer Lutece alerted the cartel to the European Commission and was not sanctioned.
The cartel operated from September 2010 until February 2012, with Lutece dropping out two months early, according to the commission. During this time, the companies “exchanged confidential information on tenders, set minimum prices, agreed on volume targets and allocated customers,” it said. The case started with dawn raids against the companies in February 2012, leading to charges last month. The EU competition watchdog said the companies set minimum prices, agreed on volume targets and also allocated customers among themselves.
“The cartel for canned mushrooms, which aimed to avoid a fall in prices, covered sales to retailers throughout Europe for more than a year,” European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said in a statement on Wednesday. “This means that, potentially, all consumers may have been affected,” he added.
