The European Commission has enforced a fine of €337.5 million against the American multinational, Mondelez.
The executive branch of the EU accuses the agri-food giant of impeding the trade of chocolate, biscuit and coffee-based products between member states by setting territorial supply limits for its merchandise suppliers.
One disputed agreement required Mondelez’s customers to charge higher prices for exports compared to domestic sales. Mondelez notably refused to supply a partner in Germany to prevent the resale of chocolate bars in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria and Romania where prices were higher.
The company also stopped supplying chocolate bars to the Netherlands to prevent their import into Belgium, where Mondelez sold these products at higher prices.
Mondelez’s main headquarters is based in the US, but the corporate giant also has establishments in Belgium, where the CEO is Dirk Van de Put. In May 2023, Ukraine placed Mondelez and the Belgian CEO on its “international sponsors of the Russian war” blacklist for deciding to remain active in Russia.
In response to the allegations, Mondelez emphasised the closure of the procedure, referring to the accusations as “historical and isolated incidents, most of which ceased or were resolved well before the Commission’s investigation.”
The multinational stated, “This historical case does not reflect who we are, nor the strong compliance culture we strive for. We have a strong focus on integrity and respecting the laws of the countries in which we operate. We are firmly committed to the highest standards of compliance. We have reinforced our mandatory annual compliance programme to learn lessons from this.”
The firm has noted that it has already accounted for the provision necessary to pay the fine.
Comeos, the trade federation, has welcomed the €337 million fine imposed on Mondelez.
"We've long condemned such practices. Consumers pay excessively due to the dominant position of large food producers," stated Dominique Michel, CEO of Comeos.
He recalled a similar multi-million fine imposed five years ago on ABInbev for comparable practices. "Individuals can buy products anywhere in Europe. A trader, however, cannot do so. It is inexplicable given our single market has been in place for over two decades," Michel explained.
The European Commission launched an investigation five years ago, eventually discovering that Mondelez deliberately restricted product sales through wholesalers and other distributors. Certain practices were in effect from 2006 and continued until recently, up until 2020.
In Comeos' estimation, such multinational practices are causing European consumers to overpay by €14 billion annually.
