CADE convicts Ciemarsal for cartel in salt market

The Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) convicted Ciemarsal for cartel in the Brazilian salt market. The decision indicated that the company  fixed prices, market conditions, advantages in public procurements, and market regulation to control the supply of the product.

In 2019, CADE launched an  administrative proceeding  after the search and seizure operation at the company and other representative entities of the sector. Evidence gathered during the evidentiary stage proved that the parties involved attended regular meetings to fix prices, control the product’s supply, and combine market shares.

Siesal, Simorsal, and Abersal, an association and two cooperatives in the sector, intervened directly by supporting the practices, encouraging the adoption of price lists, and organizing and monitoring the collusion.

The coordination between producers and refineries affected the whole supply chain of salt in Brazil from 1992 to 2012. The Tribunal of CADE considered the collusion a hardcore cartel. It had several mechanisms for monitoring the agreements between the parties, specially regarding the prices. There was also provision for penalties in case of non-compliance with the agreements, with punishments ranging from suspension of supply or boycott of sales to monetary fines.

According to the rapporteur of the case, Commissioner Diogo Thomson,  there is a lot of evidence to prove the illegal activities, such as meetings’ minutes and emails suggesting a strategic purchase of salt in specific areas, in order to control the dynamics of the prices. “Evidence include monitoring reports of the cartel agreements and statements from Siesal that reveal joint negotiations among the companies, including the respondent”, he stated.

The Tribunal of CADE convicted Ciemarsal unanimously, and the company is to pay BRL 1,592,479.91 in fines.