Brazil: Distributors file antitrust complaint against Ambev

Beverage distributors working for Brazilian brewer Ambev have filed a complaint against the company at the local antitrust regulator CADE, accusing it of anticompetitive practices, reported Reuters. 

An industry group representing 110 resellers and logistic distributors, known as Confenar, blames Ambev for implementing abusive commercial policies due to its dominant market position in Brazil. 

“Ambev creates a closed and vicious cycle of control, determining resellers to work on the product mix they want, in the format, price and structure of their interest,” Confenar’s president, Ataíde Gil Guerreiro, said in a statement on Friday, October 25. 

Fines applied to companies found guilty of anticompetitive practices may range from 0.1% to 20% of the gross revenue in the year preceding the filing of the complaint, CADE wrote in an emailed statement.

Ambev said in a statement that it regrets that Confenar has taken to CADE private contract negotiations, which has been ongoing for months. 

“Confenar wants a guarantee of minimum profitability, which goes against free enterprise and business logic, and is using authorities as an instrument to try to pressure Ambev in a private negotiation,” it said in a statement sent to Reuters. 

The company also stated that all of its commercial policies “are thoroughly reviewed by a committee with external members and are absolutely in line with current laws, including antitrust.”

Full Content: Reuters

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