Seven UK supermarkets have instructed lawyers to seek compensation for losses arising from alleged salmon producer price-fixing.
Asda, Iceland, Marks & Spencer, Ocado, Morrisons, Aldi and Co-op have appointed Stephenson Harwood to seek compensation on their behalf.
According to the supermarkets’ legal team, they are seeking compensation for losses arising from an alleged cartel that was active in the market for farmed Atlantic salmon from 2011 to 2019.
It comes as six major producers – Cermaq, Grieg Seafood, Bremnes, Lerøy, Mowi and SalMar – have been accused of price-fixing by the European Commission.
The EC said it had concerns that the companies had exchanged commercially sensitive information, relating to sales prices, available volumes, sales volumes, production volumes and production capacities, as well as other price-setting factors from 2011 to 2019.
It reached a preliminary view in January that the salmon producers had infringed competition law by colluding to distort competition in the market for spot sales of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon in the EU.
According to Lerøy’s latest financial records, “the group strongly rejects the claimants’ allegations and considers such claims from customers to be baseless”.
“Retailers are committed to delivering the best price for their customers, and the industry is following the outcome of this court case closely,” said Andrew Opie, director of food & sustainability at the BRC.
According to Mintec, the monthly average salmon price for January 2024 was 53% above the five-year average (NOK70.0/kg) for 2019-2023.
This has had an impact on retailer shelf prices, with own-label salmon fillets increasing by as much as 13% year on year in some retailers, according to Assosia data for The Grocer’s Key Value Items tracker.
The claimants said they had no further comment to make at this stage.
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