Month: March 2017

South Africa: Dawn Raids on fresh produce markets

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By AAT Senior Contributor, Michael-James Currie

The South African Competition Commission (SACC) conducted yet another set of dawn raids, this time on the premises of nine of South Africa’s largest fresh produce market agents.

SAgrocery.jpgThe agents raided, which had operations at the Tshwane Market in Pretoria and the Joburg Market in Johannesburg, include the Botha Roodt Group (Botha Roodt); Subtropico (Pty) Ltd (Subtropico); RSA Group (Pty) Ltd (RSA Group); Dapper Market Agents (Pty) Ltd (Dapper); DW Fresh Produce CC (DW Fresh); Farmers Trust CC (Farmers Trust); Noordvaal Market Agents (Pty) Ltd (Noordvaal); Marco Fresh Produce Market Agency (Marco); and Wenpro Market Agents CC (Wenpro).

Although South Africa has about 30 fresh produce markets agents, the 6 largest agents allegedly account for approximately 80% of the fresh produce intermediaries. This means that the SACC included 3 agents in its raid which would not ordinarily be regarded as ‘large agents’.

The raid, according to the SACC’s media release, follows from a complaint which the SACC received from the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The media release alleges that the agents engaged in prohibited cartel conduct, in contravention of Section 4(1)(b) of the South African Competition Act, in that they:

  • entered into an agreement and/or engaged in a concerted practice to fix the price and trading conditions for the supply of freshly produced fruits and vegetables in South Africa;
  • are involved in prohibited coordinated activities aimed at undercutting the prices charged by smaller intermediaries by charging way below the market price for certain agreed periods of a trading day;
  • keep their prices unsustainably low during these periods where after they (by agreement) quickly increase prices significantly as soon as the smaller agents run out of stock. Accordingly, certain volumes of fresh produce are sold during the late hours of trading with the sole aim of manipulating prices;
  • further make decisions regarding the actual timing of the price increases; and
  • reserve certain fresh produce grades for particular buyers, therefore, engaging in price discrimination based on the identity of buyers.

These agents facilitate the selling of fresh produce on behalf of farmers, for a commission (which rate they have allegedly also fixed over the years), to wholesalers, retailers and hawkers. Accordingly, the alleged conduct is considered particularly harmful as it affects the most vulnerable households. Additionally, SACC Commissioner Tembinkosi Bonakele stated that “…cartel activities in this sector serve to keep out emerging black farmers and agents out of the market. It is for these reasons that this sector ranks high in our priority list, and cartels, big or small, will be rooted out”.

Notably, the SACC in its statement indicated that the alleged conduct is believed to be ongoing. This may raise serious issues for the agents concerned as the SACC has not yet clarified how they intend on dealing with ongoing conduct for purposes of constituting an offence under section 73A of the Competition Amendment Act (In terms of the section 73A, any director or person with management authority may be held criminally liable for ‘causing’ or ‘knowingly acquiescing’ in cartel conduct). Accordingly, how this uncertainty will impact on the SACC’s corporate leniency policy remains to be seen. For more info on this, see South African Competition Commission… More Dawn Raids!

In conclusion, the timing of this dawn raid coincides with the SACC’s recent (ongoing) Market Inquiry into the Grocery Retail Market Sector. However, to what extent, if any, the Market Inquiry has had any relevance or impact on this dawn raid is unclear and remains a matter of mere speculation.

Cameroon: Opportunities & Challenges

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This past Saturday, 11 March 2017, the Cameroonian Embassy in Paris, France, hosted a conference entitled “Cameroun, Destination d’Opportunités: Potentiel et défis” in conjunction with the Association of Cameroonian Attorneys in France.  The full programme is made available to AAT readers here.

1425573796In its afternoon panel on investment in Cameroons, Primerio Ltd. legal counsel, Dr. Patricia Kipiani spoke at length about the country’s high-growth sectors.  Her co-panellists included the Paris bar’s Lynda Amadagana as moderator, and William Nkontchou (ECP Director) and Hilaire Dongmo (Investment Principal at Actis).

BOTSWANA: COMPETITION AUTHORITY PROHIBITS MERGER POST-IMPLEMENTATION

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– by Michael-James Currie

On 17 February 2017, the Competition Authority of Botswana (CA) prohibited a merger between Universal House (Pty) Ltd and Mmegi Investment Holdings (Pty) Ltd.

Furthermore, the merger had already been implemented and, therefore, the CA ordered that the 28.73% interest in Mmegi Investments which Universal Investments had acquired be divested to a third party.

At the stage of ordering the divestiture, a suitable third party had not yet been identified and the merging parties were obliged to sell the 28.73 shares to a third party “with no business interests affiliated in any way with the acquiring entity”. The divestiture is also to take place within three months of the CA’s decisions and, should the thresholds be met for a mandatorily notifiable merger, the CA would require that the proposed divestiture also be notified.

The CA prohibited the merger on the grounds that the transaction was likely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition in the market. In particular, the CA held that the “market structure in the provision of commercial radio broadcasting services will be altered, and as such raises competition and public interest concerns”.

The CA does not, in its decision, elaborate specifically on what basis the proposed merger would likely lead to a lessening of competition in the market nor is there any mention of the public interest grounds upon which the CA prohibited the merger.

Regardless, the CA’s decision is clear affirmation that, like many competition agencies in Africa, it will not be seen to merely rubber-stamp mergers, but rather embark on substantive investigations in order to assess the impact of a particular transaction on the market, both in terms of traditional competition considerations and also on public interest grounds.

Accordingly, in light of the CA’s increasingly vigorous approach to merger control, firms who are potentially looking at potential mergers or acquisitions in Botswana need to take cognizance of the importance:

  • of ensuring that transactions are notified to the CA prior to implementing such a transaction; and
  • of ensuring that a comprehensive market and competitiveness report is submitted as part of the merger filing to ensure that the merging parties are best placed to demonstrate that a proposed transaction would not have adverse effects on competition in the market or on the public interest grounds.

In addition to engaging in increasingly substantive merger assessments, the CA has also demonstrated that it has the confidence and resources to tackle anti-competitive conduct practices as well as conduct market studies.

The Competition Authority of Botswana is, therefore, fast becoming one of Southern Africa’s more robust competition agencies.