Price fixing schemes are rampant across several commodities industries.
We have seen it here in the U.S. with meat processors and now Canada Bread is admitting its guilt in arranging price increases with its competitors in 2007 and 2011.
The country’s leading bread producer will pay a fine of $50 million dollars. An independent food industry analyst says that it caused bread prices to be double the food price inflation.
Canadian Grocer Trade Journal publisher, George Cordon says that over the fourteen years price fixing period consumers paid out hundreds of extra dollars for their bread purchases.
“The price increase was about 7 cents at wholesale, which meant about 10 cents at retail. Ten cents isn’t going to break anybody’s back, but over a period of time, it can amount to quite a bit. That could, ultimately, have cost a regular bread shopper maybe $400 dollars,” he explains.
The $50 million dollar fine will actually be paid out by Mexican company Bimbo; they bought Canada Bread back in 2014.
