Consumer protection officials on Wednesday fined the Greek branch of Swiss food and drink processing giant Nestle nearly €3 million for exceeding a profit cap imposed by the government to fight the cost-of-living crisis amid the Gulf tensions.
The Independent Authority for Market Oversight and Consumer Protection said pricing on 48 Nestle Hellas products was found to be over the profit cap between March 13 and April 3. These included coffee, chocolate and baby formula, the authority said.
The profit cap was imposed on March 13 as the conservative government struggled to limit price-gouging in the wake of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Tehran’s retaliation, which drove up global energy prices amid a long-running cost-of-living crisis.
According to the European Union’s statistical authority, Eurostat, inflation in Greece jumped to 5% in May, with pressure coming mainly from fuel and service prices and less from food. It was the third highest rate of inflation among countries using the common euro currency.
BUSINESS CONSUMER AFFAIRS INFLATION PRICES
