Athens, Dec. 3 - A competition watchdog said Monday it had fined seven Greek dairy companies - including the five biggest - a total EUR48.3 million for alleged price-fixing.
The Competition Commission said five of the companies agreed in 2004 to freeze prices paid to dairy producers, and some of the companies had exchanged pricing information and conspired to fix yoghurt prices.
The watchdog said the country's association of dairy companies had also breached competition regulations.
It named the alleged offenders as Vivartia SA - Greece's largest food company - Mevgal, Fage, Nestle SA (NSRGY), Olymbos, Kri-Kri Milk Industry SA and Sergal.
The action follows the arrest last year of a senior Competition Commission member for allegedly soliciting a EUR2.5 million bribe from a dairy company under investigation.