London
CNN
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Mondelez, the maker of Oreo and Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate, has been fined €337.5 million ($366 million) for hindering the trade of chocolate, cookies, and coffee between European Union countries to keep prices high.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief, stated Thursday that Mondelez had illegally limited cross-border sales within the EU to maintain higher product prices.
“This case concerns the cost of groceries, a significant concern for European citizens, especially during times of high inflation and cost-of-living challenges,” she added during a press conference.
The European Commission, investigating the case since 2019, found that Mondelez International (MDLZ) deliberately restricted cross-border trade and abused its dominant position in national markets for chocolate bars, leading to a formal investigation in 2021.
Among other actions, the company stopped supplying chocolate bars in the Netherlands to prevent importing them into Belgium, where it sold the same products at higher prices, according to the EU’s executive arm statement.
“The commission concluded that Mondelez’s illegal practices hindered retailers from freely sourcing products in EU member states with lower prices,” it added.
A spokesperson for Mondelez International stated that the fine related to “isolated incidents, most of which ceased or were addressed well before the commission’s investigation.”
“This historical matter does not reflect who we are and our strong compliance culture. We will continue to emphasize our compliance culture and have enhanced our annual mandatory compliance program to incorporate lessons learned,” the spokesperson added.
Mondelez made provisions for the fine last year and no additional measures are required to finance it.
According to the EU, the company’s illegal practices date back to 2006 and include withholding supplies from a wholesaler in Germany to prevent resale of chocolate bars in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, and Romania where prices were higher. In another instance, Mondelez required a customer to charge higher prices for exports than domestic sales.
This story has been updated with additional information. Mark Thompson contributed reporting.
