Due to the suspicion of the existence of restrictive agreements that restrict competition on the coffee market in Serbia, the Commission for Protection of Competition (KPC) initiated an investigation against Zagreb’s Atlantic Group, Belgrade’s Atlantic Brands and Strauss Adriatic.
The Commission for Protection of Competition announced that during May and June, an analysis of competition conditions was conducted, which included an analysis of the movement of retail prices of certain coffee brands and their mutual relationship in the period from 2015 to 2020.
The analysis indicated that the wholesale coffee market has a smaller number of participants and that the two largest participants have a combined market share that does not fall below 80 percent.
“It is estimated that this market has a structure that favors easier agreements between mutual competitors,” the KPC said.
It is added that the Commission has reasonably assumed that Atlantic Group and Strauss Adriatic, as the two largest participants and competitors in that market, have harmonized business strategies regarding the prices of ground coffee in Serbia.
The commission states that the cooperation, instead of mutual competition between the two companies, would have the goal, ie the consequence, of significantly restricting, distorting or preventing competition on that market.
The KPC has publicly invited all persons in possession of data, documents or other relevant information that may contribute to the establishment of the facts in this proceeding to provide them, Sputnik News reports.
