A survey by the Benelux General Secretariat polled 68 Luxembourg companies, for which four out of ten said their suppliers practiced territorial restrictions on supply. The economy ministry and price observatory published the findings on Tuesday.

According to the report, eight out of ten companies said territorial supply restrictions negatively impacted prices and company margins, six out of ten noticed a negative impact on the range of products and services they could offer, while five out of ten said they increased delivery times and lowered the quality of productions.

“The Luxembourg companies surveyed underline the fact that the practices of territorial restrictions of the offer harm consumers on the one hand by preventing them from benefiting from a wider choice and at lower costs, and on the other hand on the part of companies because of the reduction in their profit margin,” the report read.

The survey found territorial restrictions on supply impacted firms regardless of sizes, particularly in the craft sector.

According to a government statement, the European Commission has said that it is taking a closer interest in this problem at the high-level conference on the challenges for the retail trade of 19 June 2018. It also made a public call to avoid territorial restrictions on supply to the extent that these practices limit competition in the internal market to the detriment of consumers.