Japanese authorities have raided six of the country’s biggest ice cream companies after allegations they colluded to raise their prices.
Ice cream brands Meiji, Ezaki Glico, Morinaga Milk Industry Co, Lotte Co, Morinaga & Co, and Akagi Nyugyo Co have confirmed their head offices were raided on Tuesday.
Senior executives of the ice cream giants allegedly used meetings and emails over several years to coordinate the timing, scale and retail price rises for ice creams and other frozen desserts, according to local media.
The ice cream companies have each raised their retail prices at about the same time since 2022.
Ice cream at a convenience store in Tokyo. (AFP: Philip Fong)
Ice cream sales in Japan hit a record high of more than 660 billion Yen ($5.83 billion) in the financial year ending in March, according to the Japan Ice Cream Association, as the country sweltered through its hottest summer on record.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission, which carried out the raids, is also investigating whether the companies took advantage of inflation to raise prices beyond what was justified by a spike in raw ingredient costs.
Five of the six companies have said they “would cooperate with the investigation”.
If the companies are found to have have violated anti-monopoly laws, the country’s anti-trust watchdog will issue a fine and order the companies improve their business practices.
AFP
