No grounds for action over investigation into alleged Mjólkursamsölunnar breaches

The Competition Authority has today concluded its investigation into the alleged abuse of a dominant position by Mjólkursamsalan in the market for the production and wholesale of dairy products. The Competition Authority concludes that the evidence gathered in the case indicates that MS responded to the increased competition in the market, which existed following Mjólku's market entry in 2005 and lasted until 2009, robustly and vigorously. The increased competition provided Mjólkursamsalan with significant and necessary market discipline, from which consumers benefited through increased product choice and lower prices, and furthermore a higher milk price for farmers. However, the evidence in the case does not suggest that Mjólkursamsalan acted outside the framework of competition law. Thus, it is not established that Mjólkursamsalan, through systematic and organised actions, attempted to exclude competitors from the market by means of anti-competitive practices. Therefore, there is no basis for further action by the Competition Authority.

Background information
The investigation into the matter began with a search in June 2007, where documents were seized and copies of electronic data were taken. Shortly afterwards, the Reykjavík District Court issued a ruling that the Director of the Competition Authority was obliged to recuse himself from the administrative proceedings. That ruling was appealed by the Competition Authority, and in April 2008, the Competition Authority was cleared of the claim by the Mjólkursamsalan in the Supreme Court. During this legal proceedings, the Competition Authority postponed all proceedings in the administrative case, and the processing of the data obtained during the raid did not begin until the summer of 2008. During the proceedings, the Competition Authority also obtained a large amount of data from dozens of companies in the market for investigative purposes. The final data collection in the case was completed in October 2009.

See the decision for details No. 17/2010.