Unilever charged for cartel conduct
The Competition Commission has referred Unilever South Africa and Sime Darby Hudson Knight to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.
The commission says this follows an investigation which found that Unilever and Sime Darby divided markets by allocating specific types of products and customers goods in the market for the manufacturing and supply of bakery and cooking products throughout South Africa.
"The commission's investigation found that from at least 2004 to 2013 Unilever and Sime Darby entered into a Sale of Business agreement, which contained a clause in terms of which they agreed not to compete with each other in respect of certain pack sizes of margarine and edible oils," says commission spokesperson Sipho Ngwema.
Sime Darby settled with the commission in 2016.
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"The Commission is seeking an order from the Competition Tribunal declaring that Unilever and Sime Darby contravened the Competition Act as well as an order declaring Unilever liable for payment of an administrative penalty equal to 10% of its annual turnover," says Ngwema.
Competition Commission head Tembinkosi Bonakele says food and agro-processing is an important focus area for the Competition Commission, and that they are determined to root out exploitation of consumers by cartels.