A government antitrust investigation report has unveiled that executives at Carlsberg, SABMiller and UB exchanged commercially sensitive information and colluded to fix beer prices in India for a period of over 11 years. The conclusions were based on executives’ conversations, WhatsApp messages and e-mails that show the companies regularly and collectively strategized in seeking price increases in several states. The companies also used the ‘All India Brewers Association’ as a common platform to decide together on prices. The findings of the investigation, which are not yet a final judgement of wrongdoing, cast a shadow on brewers, which account for 88% of India’s beer market (estimated at $7bn).
