Salmon companies face nervous wait following ‘cartel’ hearing

Some of Norway’s largest salmon companies are in for an anxious time as they await the European Commission’s next move over alleged price-fixing. A three-day hearing in Brussels with the EU’s competition authorities came to a close yesterday. If found guilty, the salmon producers face the prospect of being fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover. In the case of Mowi, based on its 2023 sales, this could total €550 euros (around £465m) and for SalMar it could be up to £200 million. However, it is unusual for the EU to impose maximum penalties in such cases. It is not known how long the companies will have to wait, but it could be several weeks. A similar allegation in the United States has already been settled, costing the salmon farmers US $85m plus an additional CA $5m to close Canadian claims. The settlement did not include any admission that the companies were at fault. It was thought then that the EU, which takes a strong stand against cartels of any kind, might also settle but that has not happened. The six companies have all strongly denied the allegations, which go back almost five years to 2019 when the UK was still part of the EU. At the time, EU investigators raided some of the Scottish offices of Norwegian-owned companies. The companies had earlier been given permission to study the EU investigation documents, allowing them time to dispute anything they contained. This has now been followed up by the hearing this week, which was held behind closed doors. The salmon companies are also facing a similar claim of around £382m from several of Britain’s leading retailers, as well as a class action suit representing UK consumers, but if they are cleared by the EU those claims would become harder to sustain.