AB InBev escapes heavy German fine

Cartel from 2006 to 2008

The German cartel authorities have penalized Bitburger,
Warsteiner, Krombacher, Veltins and Barre for arranging
prices between 2006 and 2008, which resulted in a keg of beer costing 5 to 7
euro more, while a case of beer became 1 euro more expensive – according to the
Bundeskartellamt.

Main
witness AB InBev escapes any possible fine as it was the whistle blower, but more sentences could follow as the German competition watchdog states that the investigation has not been finalized yet and officials are still
trying to figure out what the role was of two other concerns and four regional
breweries.

German beer sector gets huge blow

The fine could have been a lot worse, as cartel authorities could have fined the brewers some 200 million euro (being 10 % of their
turnover in that period). Still, it must have been quite a blow for the
brewers as insiders claim the 106.5 million euro is basically the profits of almost two years.

German
beer sales have been slipping for years and have fallen to
96.5 million hectolitres in 2012, its lowest point since the reunion
of Eastern and Western Germany. The competition has been brutal, making it virtually impossible
to charge the ever-increasing price of raw materials to the customer.

(Translated by Gary Peeters)