Chilean prosecutor seeks huge fines for alleged price fixing by aquafeed firms

Chile’s National Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) has asked a competition watchdog to impose fines totalling the equivalent of US $79.8 million on salmon feed suppliers BioMar, Skretting, and Salmofood, reports AquaFeed.com.

The FNE alleges that the companies engaged in a long-standing anticompetitive agreement that distorted feed prices in Chile between 2003 and 2015.

During hearings before the Tribunal for the Defence of Free Competition (TDLC), the FNE presented evidence obtained from a fourth member of the alleged cartel, EWOS, which has acted as a whistleblower and is not facing a fine. Evidence was also obtained from search and seizure operations at the feed companies’ offices.

Raw materials

Initially, the companies coordinated feed prices or price adjustments by sharing price lists, and over time this coordination evolved to focus on the cost of raw materials reported to their clients, the FNE alleged.

The Prosecutor’s Office has asked the TDLC to impose the maximum fines permitted under the law in effect at the time of the conduct, which is 30,000 annual tax units per company. This amounts to 24.8 billion Chilean pesos (US $25.8m) per company.