European Commission fines Oreo maker Mondelez €337.5 million for blocking cross-border sales

The European Commission has fined food company Mondelez, owner of Oreo cookies and other snack brands, 337.5 million euros ($366 million) for preventing the sale of its products across EU member states.

Brussels — The European Commission imposed a fine of 337.5 million euros ($366 million). food Mondelez, the owner of Oreo cookies and other snack brands, has been accused of interfering with the sale of its products between EU member states, the EU’s interstate enforcement arm announced Thursday.

Mondelez owns the Cadbury and Toblerone chocolate brands, as well as Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies, Tris Crackers and Perfect Snacks nutrition bars.

The European Commission said Mondelez tried to avoid cross-border trade because it could lead to lower prices, which hurt consumers who ended up paying more for chocolate, biscuits and coffee. It is said that

“Such unlawful conduct has enabled Mondelez to continue to charge ever higher prices for its products, to the ultimate detriment of EU consumers,” it said.

The Chicago-based candy and snack company has been banned from the EU “by engaging in anti-competitive agreements or concerted practices aimed at restricting cross-border trade in various chocolate, biscuit and coffee products.” Competition rules were breached, the European Commission said. “And by abusing its dominant position in the sale of chocolate tablets in certain domestic markets.”

European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager said the case concerned food prices, which were a particular concern for Europeans at a time when inflation remained high.

“This is also at the heart of the European project of free movement of goods in the single market,” Vestager said.

According to the EU executive, the company was involved in 22 anti-competitive agreements or concerted practices.

One agreement included a clause ordering Mondelez’s customers to apply higher prices for exports than for domestic sales, according to the EU. The Commission added that Mondelez had blocked its 10 exclusive distributors based in the EU27 from fulfilling sales requests from customers in other EU countries without the company’s prior authorization.