clover applies to have hearings scrapped 
02 June 2008

Competition Tribunal hearings on an alleged milk cartel could be over before they even get off the ground if Clover is successful in its application, due to be heard today.
Clover deputy CEO Manie Roode said last week that the company had brought an application to have the tribunal hearings, set for September cancelled. He said the delay between the Competition Commission’s receipt of the complaint and the referral exceeded a year and that the complaint had thus prescribed, or expired. 

The company was also lodging an argument against being called as a witness for the commission, and being subject to being cross-examined by it.   Roode said it was not constitutional, and was prejudicial for Clover to be a witness and be cross-examined.  Clover has received conditional leniency in return for agreeing to testify and assist the commission in its investigation into aspects of the cartel.

Roode said Clover was also arguing that one of the complaints brought against it was a duplication of the complaint for which it had received conditional corporate immunity and should be dismissed.  The complaint for which Clover had received leniency related to removing surpluses from the market and then selling them into the export market. Roode said this was done to protect the milk market.

The commission said this constituted indirect price fixing.

Nicola Mawson, www.businessday.co.za