OFT announces provisional decision on price fixing
Published 20 September 2007

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has announced today that its provisional findings have concluded that supermarkets and dairy processors colluded to increase the price of dairy products leading to an estimated £270m extra cost for consumers.

A statement of objections (a document setting out the provisional findings) has been sent to Asda, Morrisons, Safeway, Sainsbury and Tesco. In addition, dairy processors Arla, Dairy Crest, Lactalis McLelland, The Cheese Company and, Robert Wiseman Dairies have also recevied statements.

The provisional findings is that these supermarkets/processors engaged in fixing the retail price of milk, butter and cheese through the sharing of commercially sensitive information between 2002 and 2003.

The OFT has stated that it will not be in a position to decide whether the law has been breached until it has received responses from both the parties mentioned above and any interested third parties.

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