Uruguay: Alert over new monopoly as Molino Dolores closes down

Molino Dolores, one of the country’s local heavyweights in the wheat flour processing sector, has announced it will stop production indefinitely, leaving 200 workers out of a job and a massive hole in the flour-processing sector. Some voices have raised alarms over the situation, which may worsen the already highly-concentrated industry and result in a de facto monopoly.

Speaking last Wednesday to a group of visiting dignitaries from the Central Bank to the House of Representatives’ Commission for Cattle, Agriculture and Fisheries, National party Deputy Armando Castaingdebat said that the situation carries “the risk of creating a monopoly” in the country’s flour production sector.

“The risk is that the Molino Dolores will be sold off, and whoever buys it may already have a large chunk of the market… Those most interested are those who already control a large part of this country’s industry”, said the deputy, referring to the Molinos Cañuelas mill, an Argentinian company that already owns a major Montevideo operation.

Full Content: Diario El País

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.