WILLEMSTAD – The confirmation by the court that supermarkets and their directors on Curaçao must pay fines for failing to cooperate with a competition investigation is more than a legal technicality. It sends a clear signal that oversight of supermarket market power is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.
In recent years, Curaçaoan consumers have faced price increases that defy logic when compared to official inflation figures. Prices for basic food items such as fruit and vegetables are reportedly almost three times higher than on Aruba and Bonaire, despite broadly similar regional conditions. These sharp increases in food prices have placed significant pressure on household purchasing power, while overall inflation has remained comparatively moderate.
According to observers, this discrepancy does not arise by chance. In a small and highly concentrated market, dominant players such as large supermarket chains can exercise market power to set prices rather than compete on them. When major retailers systematically refuse to provide information on pricing structures, supply chains, and market organization, transparency disappears and it becomes impossible to distinguish between fair pricing and artificially inflated costs.
Against this backdrop, the fines that have now been upheld on appeal—amounting to hundreds of thousands of guilders—against supermarket chains including Mangusa and Arco Iris are being widely viewed as both justified and necessary. Not because punishment is an end in itself, but because competition law becomes meaningless without effective sanctions. Refusing to provide information directly obstructs investigations designed to determine whether market power is being abused.
The rulings reinforce the importance of allowing the competition authority to perform its duties without obstruction. Effective competition oversight is not only about preventing price-fixing or cartel behavior; it is also about protecting consumers from unchecked pricing power. The willingness of major supermarkets to hide behind procedural arguments rather than engage transparently has eroded public trust and weakened the foundations of fair competition.
The judiciary has now made clear that ignoring information requests is not a harmless formality, but a direct impediment to effective supervision. For many consumers, the decisions confirm what they have long experienced: without oversight of price-setting mechanisms, there is little protection against potential abuse by dominant market players.
At a time when the average household on Curaçao is struggling with rising living costs, the confirmation of fines against Mangusa and Arco Iris is not merely welcome news—it is necessary news.