Violation of competition law by Mjólkursamsalan ehf.

The Competition Authority has, in a new decision published today (no. 19/2016), imposed a statutory fine of 480 million krónur on Mjólkursamsalan ehf. (MS) for serious breaches of competition law. MS abused its dominant market position by selling its competitors a basic raw material for the production of dairy products at an unreasonably high price, at the same time as MS itself and related parties received this raw material at a much lower price, and furthermore below cost price. This was intended to give MS and related parties a significant competitive advantage over their rivals. In this way, the ability of competitors to compete with MS and its affiliated companies was seriously impaired, which ultimately tends to harm the interests of consumers and farmers. Furthermore, MS provided the Competition Authority with incorrect information and failed to disclose important data. This has delayed the resolution of the case and harmed competition. The Competition Authority's previous decision (no. 26/2014) was annulled by the Competition Appeals Board. The appeal board instructed the Competition Authority to reconsider the case, as MS had submitted new evidence to the board that had not been provided to the authority during the proceedings. With the decision published today, the Competition Authority has concluded the investigation mandated by the Appeal Board.

Decision SE no. 26/2014 Misuse by Mjókursamsalan ehf of its dominant market position