Monopoly in the glass sector

The European Commission said it was looking into allegations made by European Federation of Wine and Spirits Importers and Distributors, or EFWSID, that lack of competition in the glass bottle manufacturing sector was causing prices to go up.

In a letter to antitrust commissioner Neelie Kroes, EFWSID
said it was concerned that concentration in the glass bottle manufacturing
sector was affecting prices and hindering competition. Prices of glass bottles
have increased up to 30% over the past few months, due to lack of competition
in the market and the companies habit of discontinuing older, and often
cheaper, bottle models.
"We will have a close look at the allegations made in
the letter," said competition spokesman Jonathan Todd in the commissions
daily press briefing, confirming Kroes received the missive Aug. 28.
In the letter, the Federation said the glass sector had
become "highly concentrated over the past few years, to the point we now
face a virtual monopoly of suppliers among whom there is no longer any
competition."
In a separate letter to the competition authorities the
Belgian Federation of Wine and Spirits which is a member of the EFWSID, said
that more than 95% of the European glass bottle market was in the hands of three
companies, the French Saint-Gobain, Owens-Illinois (OI) of the U.S. and Ardagh
Glass of Ireland.