“Indications of collusion” among export meatpackers

Paraguay’s National Competition Commission (CONACOM) confirmed concrete progress in the investigation opened against seven export meatpackers, amid indications of potential anti-competitive practices, mainly linked to alleged price collusion in the beef market.

CONACOM’s Director of Investigations, Ricardo Gavilán, told ABC Cardinal that one of the decisive factors behind closing the preliminary inquiry and moving to an administrative proceeding was the detection of price parallelism for certain cuts among plants that, not belonging to the same economic group, should be competing.

“One of the indicators taken into account is precisely the existence of marked price parallelism,” he explained, stressing that this behavior on its own does not constitute conclusive proof, but is sufficient to warrant a formal investigation.

Added to this are testimonies from cattle producers alleging agreements among meatpacking plants not only on purchase and selling prices, but also on bonuses, commercial terms, and market entry and exit—practices that, if confirmed, would be explicitly prohibited under Paraguay’s Competition Law.

Source: Valor Agro.