Unilever will pay a R16m penalty without admitting guilt after the Competition Commission accused the multinational consumer goods company of anticompetitive behaviour.
The settlement agreement is still to be approved by the Competition Tribunal, which acts like a court on competition matters.
In 2017, the commission opened a case against Unilever and the SA division of Malaysian palm oil producer Sime Darby Hudson Knight for prosecution over what it said was the possible division of markets between 2004 and 2013.
According to a commission investigation, the two companies entered into a business agreement in accordance with which they produced and supplied customers with different pack sizes of margarine and vegetable oils in an effort to sidestep the Competition Act.
Sime Darby SA, which sells margarine and oil to catering services, settled the matter with the commission in 2016.
Remgro
In 2018, Unilever sold its margarine and spreads business to investment holding company Remgro. It still sells a range of hair care, hygiene, soap, body spray and toothpaste products in the country and region.
As part of the settlement agreement Unilever undertook to increase its buying from local suppliers by R340m over four years and set up a supplier development fund.
The consumer goods company will donate hygiene, disinfectant and oral care products to the value of R3m to no fewer than 18,780 state-run schools over five years.
Unilever will also establish an enterprise and supplier development fund to the value of R40m, the commission said. The fund will provide interest-free business loans to black-owned entities in the manufacturing, logistics and wholesale industries in SA. These entities will have to qualify by meeting Unilever’s selection criteria.
“With agreements like the one with Unilever, the commission preserves the spirit of healthy competition, protects the rights of consumers, and paves the way for a thriving marketplace built on integrity and shared prosperity,” said commissioner Doris Tshepe.
Unilever SA declined to comment on Thursday.
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