Brasília, August 18 — Brazil’s antitrust authority CADE has launched an administrative proceeding and imposed preventive measures against associations and companies linked to the country’s “Soy Moratorium,” amid suspicions of a cartel in the soybean export market.
The case targets the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE), the National Association of Grain Exporters (ANEC), and 30 major trading companies, including ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Louis Dreyfus, Viterra and Cofco. The investigation stems from a referral by the Chamber of Deputies’ Agriculture Committee, which alleged that the signatories of the Moratorium agreed not to purchase soybeans grown in deforested areas of the Amazon biome after 2008.
According to CADE, competing private companies created the “Soy Working Group” to monitor the market and coordinate conditions for soybean purchases in Brazil. The watchdog said the arrangement may constitute an anti-competitive agreement between rivals that restricts exports.
As a precaution, CADE ordered members of the Soy Working Group to stop collecting, storing, sharing or disseminating commercial information about soybean production, sales or acquisitions, and to suspend audit processes. They must also refrain from sharing reports and documents supporting the Moratorium and remove related materials from their websites.
Preventive measures are allowed under Brazilian competition law when there are indications that ongoing practices could cause irreparable harm to the market or undermine the outcome of the investigation. CADE noted that, if proven, the conduct could result in less favorable purchasing conditions and prices above competitive levels.
The companies and associations have been summoned to present their defenses. After gathering evidence, CADE’s investigative arm will issue a final opinion and forward the case to the CADE Tribunal. A settlement through a Conduct Cessation Agreement (TCC) remains possible. If found guilty, associations could face fines ranging from 50,000 reais to 2 billion reais, while companies could be fined between 0.1% and 20% of their gross turnover in the year before the case was opened.
The case has been formally registered as Administrative Proceeding No. 08700.005853/2024-38.
