South Africa moves to prosecute eight cargo shipping companies for alleged price-fixing | Container news

South Africa’s Competition Commission has referred a complaint on December 2 against eight cargo shipping companies to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution.

The case targets eight cargo shipping companies for allegedly involved in price-fixing over a 10-year period.

The companies allegedly engaged in the fixing of the rates – General Rate Increase – charged to customers for shipping cargo from South Africa to Asia and back and from South Africa to West Africa and back between 2008 and 2018.

“The respondents are global container shipping liners involved in shipping cargo for import and export purposes across the globe, including South Africa. They are alleged to have engaged in the fixing of the rates called General Rate Increase (GRI) charged to customers for the shipment of general cargo enroute from South Africa to Asia and back and from South Africa to West Africa and back,” the Competition Commission said in its media release.

According to the Commission, this conduct constitutes price fixing which contravenes section 4(1)(b)(i) of the Competition Act, No. 89 of 1998, as amended (“the Act”).

The conduct is alleged to have started in 2008 and ceased in 2018.

The Commission’s investigation found that the companies involved charged the same GRI for the routes from Shanghai, Ningbo and Shekou to Durban, from Durban to Hong Kong, and from Qingdao to Durban.

“The dismantling of the cartel will reduce the price of goods imported to South Africa for the benefit of consumers and will also reduce the costs of exports out of South Africa, which will, in turn, render the South African exports competitive in the world markets,” Commissioner Doris Tshepe said.

The Competition Commission is a statutory body constituted in terms of the Competition Act, No 89 of 1998 by the government of South Africa empowered to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant positions and mergers.