Bread price fixing: Pioneer Foods gets referral

Paarl / ZA. (pfg) Pioneer Foods has received a complaint referral from the Competition Commission for bread price fixing. In a statemen Pioneer Foods said it received a referral from the commission in connection with an alleged bread cartel operating in South Africa. «Pioneer Foods and its advisors are studying the contents of the referral and will respond to the Competition Commission in the next few weeks in terms of the referral», the statement said. Earlier this year, the commission found that bakeries owned by Pioneer and competitor Tiger Brands had colluded to raise bread prices to distributors, reports said. The commission had indicated late last year that it intended taking further action against Pioneer.