German Farmers File €200M Lawsuit Over Alleged Pesticide Price Fixing

A group of 3,200 farmers claims they overpaid due to a cartel of nine wholesalers accused of illegal price coordination from 1998 to 2015.

The lawsuit, filed in the Dortmund Regional Court, seeks over €200 million in damages for alleged overcharges on pesticide purchases.
The farmers, represented by the legal service Unilegion, argue they paid 10–20% more than fair market prices due to the cartel's practices.
The cartel, consisting of nine wholesalers, was fined €157 million by the German Federal Cartel Office in 2020 for price-fixing between 1998 and 2015.
The case involves 3,200 agricultural businesses managing over 850,000 hectares of land, representing more than 5% of Germany's total farmland.
Defendant companies, including Agravis and Baywa, dispute the claims, asserting no financial harm was caused and welcoming judicial review.