Japan raids ice cream giants over price-fixing allegations

Japan's competition watchdog has raided some of the country's biggest ice cream makers for allegedly forming a cartel to raise the price of their products.Some of the firms, including Meiji and Pocky maker Ezaki Glico, said this week that they have been subject to an "on-site inspection" by the Japan-fair-trade-commission" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="147938" data-entity-type="organization">Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) over suspicions that they fixed the prices of frozen desserts.The JFTC said it is not releasing a statement regarding the investigation.The companies are suspected of inflating ice cream prices beyond increases in the cost of raw materials, even as the country faces a hot summer with record high temperatures.The six firms that were raided on Tuesday were Meiji, Morinaga-milk-industry" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="147939" data-entity-type="organization">Morinaga Milk Industry, Lotte, Morinaga, Ezaki Glico and Akagi Nyugyo.The BBC has contacted the companies for comment.The firms improperly raised prices of popular desserts "several times by 5-10% over the years", according to Japanese broadcaster NHK, citing anonymous sources.The brands distribute their products wholesale to supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan.