Chilean prosecutor alleges 12-year price-fixing scheme by salmon feed producers.
Chile’s National Economic Prosecutor’s Office (FNE) has asked the country’s competition tribunal to impose the maximum legal sanctions on three salmon feed producers accused of engaging in a price-fixing scheme that spanned more than a decade.
The companies named in the case are Biomar Chile, Skretting Chile, and Salmofood, all headquartered in Puerto Montt. The FNE alleges the firms engaged in anti-competitive coordination between 2003 and 2015, initially exchanging price lists and later aligning reported raw material costs to influence pricing passed on to salmon farmers.
During a hearing on 1 July before the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia (TDLC), Eduardo Aguilera, deputy head of the FNE’s litigation division, presented evidence including email records and executive statements. According to Aguilera, the collusion involved senior executives at each company and was aimed at distorting market prices over an extended period.
The FNE is seeking the highest fines permitted under the legal framework in place at the time of the conduct: 30,000 UTA (Unidad Tributaria Anual) per company, or a combined total exceeding CLP 75.5 billion ($79.8 million).
The case remains under review by the TDLC, which will determine whether the alleged conduct constitutes a breach of Chilean competition law and, if so, what penalties will be imposed.
Biomar and Skretting are global feed suppliers with parent companies based in Denmark (BioMar Group, owned by Schouw & Co.) and the Netherlands (Nutreco, part of SHV Holdings), respectively. Salmofood is owned by Vitapro, part of Peru’s Alicorp Group.
