A European Parliament committee has accepted MEP Alex Agius Saliba's request to call on the European Commission to investigate monopolies in food retail in Malta. 

Cross-party support was obtained at the Petitions Committee to call on the European Commission to investigate whether the mechanisms of de-facto monopolies are leading to artificially higher prices in the food retail sector in Malta.

Agius Saliba embarked on the campaign, insisting he was aware of abusive and potentially illegal practices by key players in the sector.

Food prices have increased significantly in recent years. While the increase was driven by external shocks such as the pandemic, the Ukraine war and bottlenecks in the supply chain, the inflation seen in Malta goes beyond what was observed elsewhere. The inflation rate of food prices amounted to 10% in Malta in December whereas the EU average amounted to 6%. 

Various distributors recently agreed to decrease prices by 15% and freeze them for nine months through a voluntary initiative led by the government. 

Malta's geographic realities as a small island with a limited market share coupled with long-standing supply chains, practices and traditions make it ripe for the formation of de-facto monopolies, Agius Saliba said. 

The abuse of a dominant position to manipulate the market is a violation of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, also known as the Antitrust rules, and the European Commission is empowered to investigate violations and issue fines.

Agius Saliba applauded the EP's endorsement to ensure that key market players are held accountable and charted the way ahead.  

The Labour MEP said: “Parliament’s decision is the first tangible step in this struggle. Food retail prices impact all consumers equally irrespective of their spending power.”

He said the monopolies have created a situation of price adjustments and controls on multiple brands and products that are directly controlled by importers, and is aggressively protected by killing any parallel importation from smaller traders.