Chile: Chilean craft brewers suing beer giant CCU for unfair trade practices

Craft beer-makers in Chile are joining an antitrust suit against Latin American beverage giant Cia. Cervecerias Unidas SA in a bid to eliminate trade practices they say are stifling sales at bars and restaurants, BNN Bloomberg reported on December 21.

The South American country’s antitrust tribunal accepted a petition by the association of independent brewers, ACI, to join a case brought by competition authority FNE, court documents show. In a parallel case, a unit of Belgium’s Anheuser-Busch InBev is also suing CCU, part of a long-running legal battle between the two heavyweights in Latin America.

Chile’s independent beer-makers represented by ACI allege that market leader CCU, controlled by the country’s richest family, engages in publicity arrangements with restaurants and bars that restrict access to competing labels. Craft sales have stagnated at about 1% of the Chilean beer market as a result, they say. Santiago-based CCU didn’t provide a comment.

“Consumers should have access to different types of beers, beers of high quality,” ACI President Luis de Urruticoechea said in an interview. “Today, we are just 1% of the market. Imagine the additional sales if that were to rise to 5%, or 20% as is the case in the US.”

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