Belgian Competition Authority To Investigate Wholesale and On-Trade Commercial Conditions of AB InBev
- 17/01/2025
- News
On 16 January 2025, the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) announced that it would investigate the commercial conditions which AB InBev applies for the supply of beer to both wholesalers and “horeca” (on-trade) operators in Belgium. The BCA suspects infringements of Article 101, TFEU (which prohibits agreements in restraint of trade) and Article 102, TFEU (which prohibits an abuse of dominant position).
The announcement follows May 2024 press reports of a complaint filed against AB InBev with the BCA by FeBeD, the association of Belgian beverage wholesalers. However, none of the issues which the association reportedly raised on that occasion feature in yesterday’s press release of the BCA:
- Exclusive supply agreements that are reportedly in breach of an arrangement which the European Commission approved back in 2003.
- A margin squeeze applied to wholesalers which allegedly face competition from AB InBev that supplies specific “horeca” retail outlets directly on better terms that would make it impossible for the wholesalers to furnish the retailers profitably.
- A discount policy that was allegedly foisted on the wholesalers and presents a range of supposedly anticompetitive features, including the mandatory supply of unspecified data and portfolio discounts.
The Belgian business of AB InBev has found itself under competition scrutiny before. For example, on 13 May 2019, the European Commission imposed a fine of more than EUR 200,000,000 on AB InBev because that firm had restricted imports of beer from the Netherlands into Belgium in an attempt to maintain higher prices and achieve larger profits in Belgium.