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European court adjusts fines related to animal-feed additive cartel

A European court has adjusted fines levied by Europe's competition authority against two companies and upheld a fine on Dutch firm Akzo Nobel NV (00913.AE) for participating in an animal feed additive cartel.

The Court of First Instance reduced a fine on Belgian drugs company UCB SA (UCB.BT) by EUR8.51 million to EUR1.87 million; and raised a fine on Germany's BASF AG (BASFY: BASFY ) by EUR54,000 to EUR35 million, the first time the court has ever raised a cartel fine.

The court upheld a EUR20.99 million fine on Akzo Nobel.

The European Commission imposed fines amounting to EUR66.34 million on the three companies in 2004 for taking part in price-fixing, market sharing and other anti-competitive practices in the choline chloride market.

The court's decision not just to upheld BASF's fine but to actually increase it, is very interesting, said the commission's antitrust spokesman Jonathan Todd. "Obviously the commission will take this into account very carefully in setting future fines," he added.

The additive, choline chloride, often referred to as vitamin B4, is mixed with feed for poultry and pigs, to increase growth, health and meat quality.

The commission found four North American producers had also participated in the cartel but these had ended their participation five years before the commission launched its investigation and so were not fined.

The commission said the cartel controlled 80% of the EUR180 million worldwide market and the EUR50 million European Economic Area market for choline choride.

The firms appealed the fines to the Court of First Instance, Europe's second-highest court.

Lawyers for BASF and UCB argued that the commission should have treated the cartel as two separate cartels: one involving the North Americans from 1992 to 1994, the second from 1994 to 1998. This would mean that the European firms couldn't be fined for their pre-1994 behavior.

The court accepted the arguments and recalculated the fines accordingly.

It reduced UCB's fine to reflect the fact that UCB reported the European cartel, but recalculated BASF's fine at a slightly higher level.

It threw out an appeal by Akzo Nobel to have the commission's decision against it annulled. Akzo Nobel had argued the commission should not have fined Akzo's corporate holding group, but instead should have considered the four subsidiaries involved in the cartel separately.

Tags · Feed additives · Competition · EU · BASF · Fines · Commission

• Comments (6) 13.12.2007. 10:27

Expert: '€4/hd more to offset feed costs'

Sheep farmers will need an additional €3-4/hd for lambs this spring to offset higher feed costs, Teagasc sheep specialist Michael McHugh has claimed.

Mr McHugh, who is head of the sheep advisory service with Teagasc, pointed out that feed is the single biggest variable cost in sheep production.

With meal charges predicted to increase by 35pc this winter, the Teagasc specialist said farmers would need a lamb price rise of 15c-20c/kg "just to stand still".

Speaking at a sheep meeting in Knocktopher, Co Kilkenny, Mr McHugh admitted that most sheep farmers were losing money from their farming enterprises.

However, he said research had shown that overall returns from a 200-ewe flock, excluding the single-farm payment, could vary by as much as €10,200.

Tags · Sheep · Ireland · Stockfeed

• Continue reading • Comments (0) 11.12.2007. 01:12

EU caught in quandary over GMO animal feed imports

Europe faces a stark choice between empty supermarket shelves or feeding its animals so long as it keeps up a slow rate of approving new genetically modified (GMO) crops suitable for feed use, industry sources warn.
EU feedmakers have long complained of problems sourcing raw material, warning that the consequences of Europe's extreme caution and "zero tolerance" of unauthorised GMOs, even in tiny amounts, could be catastrophic for the food and feed sectors.

"Consumers may have to face empty shelves as certain food ingredients used in many processed foodstuffs ... could become unavailable," EU industry body FEFAC said on its website.

Tags · GMO · Animal feed imports · EU · Genetically Modified Crops · Europe

• Continue reading • Comments (0) 07.12.2007. 22:48

E.U. grain production decreases

The European Union's organization of grain traders, the Cereals Commerce Committee (Coceral) has adjusted its' estimates of 2007/08 E.U. grain production.

The total crop is seen at 252.9 million tons, compared to 251.4 million in September and the 2006/07 final of 258.7 million tons. The year to year drop is attributed primarily to weather, with widespread drier than normal conditions bordering on drought in sections of Eastern Europe and wetter than normal weather across large swaths of Western Europe.

Tags · Europe · EU · Wheat · Corn · Grain

• Continue reading • Comments (0) 07.12.2007. 01:09

Ukraine - the market of feed maize observes the stability of prices

The price situation on Ukrainian domestic market of feed maize is characterized by relative stability. At that, the purchasing prices are 1150-1200 UAH/t (on ex-elevator terms) and the demand prices are within the range of about 100 UAH/t (on the same terms).

According to the market participants, the current situation was conditioned by lack of offers of large volumes of maize as well as by low demand level.

Tags · Ukraine · Maize · Prices

• Continue reading • Comments (0) 05.12.2007. 22:25