The Estonian Competition Authority has initiated a supervision procedure to examine the actions of five companies in the food supplement sector regarding compliance with the law against unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain.

The investigation was prompted by information from market participants, raising suspicions that buyers of food supplements may not be adhering to the requirements set out in the law, potentially leading to unfair trading practices.

To gather information for the investigation, the Competition Authority reached out to businesses purchasing food supplements from suppliers with the intention of reselling them to pharmacies, emphasizing the importance of ensuring all market participants operate in accordance with fair trading principles.

If any violations are uncovered during the investigation, the Authority will decide on appropriate measures to rectify the breaches and prevent similar situations in the future, clarifying that the initiation of the procedure does not imply a finding of wrongdoing.

The aim of the law is to protect sellers of agricultural products and food from unfair trading practices by buyers and to maintain balance in the supply chain, prohibiting various unfair trading practices such as late payments, unilateral changes to contract terms, and conditions that harm the rights of sellers.