Spanish bakers face inquisition

Spanish bakers have ‘roundly denied’ claims that they got together to agree price rises for their products following the opening of an investigation by the country’s fair trade authority, the Comision Nacional de la Competencia (CNC).

Lorenz Alonso, president of the Spanish Confederation of Bakers Associations (CEOPAN), replied that the claims were not realistic when taking into account the confederation’s large membership of 14,000.

“It would be very difficult for them to all to raise prices at the same time,” he said the day after the CNC announced in July that CEOPAN would be added to a list of other food and drinks associations being investigated for alleged collusion on price rises.

The CNC began an investigation into the industry in April amid clamours in the media about the rapidly rising cost of food in general. The probe started with the national food and drink industries’ federation FIAB before including various other associations.

In a statement released in July, the CNC said the commission itself had indications of the industry working against free trade and that it had also received “a series of official complaints presented by diverse consumer associations.”

In extending the investigation to include the baking industry, the CNC had “become aware in the conduct of CEOPAN of signs of practices contrary to free competition in the market.”

“Given that the facts that are the subject of the investigation opened in April against FIAB and other associations are closely connected with those for which CEOPAN is being investigated,” the latest case would be merged into the same proceedings it said.

The Commission now has until October 2009 in which to present any findings against CEOPAN or the other associations.