Frankfurt, Feb. 11 - Germany's Federal Cartel Office and prosecutors have raided the offices of seven confectionery groups including Kraft Foods Inc., Nestle SA, Mars and Ritter on suspicion of chocolate price fixing, a press report said Monday.
Other companies received letters from the cartel office informing them they were part of an industry-wide investigation, the Financial Times Deutschland reported, citing a spokesman for the regulator.
The raids took place Thursday, while the letters were received a day later, the report said.
The investigation was sparked by several companies within a few weeks of each other announcing price hikes for chocolate products, it added.
Prices were raised by around 10%-12% on average, with companies citing a surge in the price of cocoa and nuts, the newspaper said.
Spokesmen for Kraft, Mars, Nestle and Ritter confirmed their German offices had been raided and said they were cooperating with authorities, it added.
Swiss chocolate maker Lindt Spruengli and Sarotti maker Stollwerck, weren't part of the probe, the newspaper said.