ROME, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- An administrative court in Italy said 26 pasta producers must pay $18.5 million to settle charges the companies created a cartel to fix pasta prices.
The original fine imposed on producers that command 90 percent of the Italian market was set in February by Italian anti-competition regulators, the ANSA news agency reported Thursday.
Pasta producers acknowledged that prices farmers received for wheat had fallen, but blamed speculation on biofuels for price increases in commodity markets. Further price run-ups were attributed to rising fuel and labor costs, the producers said.
"There has never been any speculation nor tacit accord to damage the interest of consumers," said the producer group.
''This whole affair has made it perfectly clear that greater transparency in pricing is urgently needed," the Confederation of Italian farmers said.
