Firm fined for discount bull sperm monopoly

7 January 2004

AMSTERDAM — CR Delta, the largest supplier of bull sperm in the Netherlands, has landed itself in hot water for abusing its dominant market position.

Dutch competition regulator NMa announced on Wednesday that it had imposed a EUR 2.6 million fine on CR Delta for providing discounts to cattle-breeders to ensure they continued to do business with the company.

If the company did not discontinue its discount system within two months, it would face additional fines of EUR 2,500 per day.

The additional penalty could amount to EUR 1 million, the NMa warned.

CR Delta says its aim is to be a “supplier of high quality, reliable products and services to dairy farmers, to enable them to make sustainable profit”. It currently has an 80 percent share of the bull sperm market in the Netherlands.

The NMa fined it for operating the discount system from 1 September 2002 to 1 September 2003.

In December 2003, the NMa imposed fines totalling EUR 100 million on 22 Dutch building firms for price fixing and cartel forming.

Last year, a parliamentary commission investigated claims that key players in the construction industry conspired together to defraud the state of millions of euros for work done on large infrastructure projects.

Subject: Dutch news