Poland: Two feed producers fined with € 3,9 mln for division of the market
According to the statement of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection in Poland (UOKiK), two producers of animal feed – Polmass and Ekoplon - have concluded agreements restricting competition. They divided two markets between them, limiting the recipients' free choice of products. The agreements concerned two groups of feed products used in the rearing of cattle - milk replacers and mineral and vitamin mixtures, and lasted in 2008-2016 and 2008-2015, respectively. UOKiK imposed financial penalties on them in the total amount of over PLN 17 million (appr € 3,9 mln).
Press release UOKiK:
One of the practices that restricts competition is market partitioning. It means that, instead of fair competition, entrepreneurs agree that they will not compete in a given area and divide between themselves territory, goods or customer groups. As a result, potential contractors lose the opportunity to buy products from selected sellers.
This was the case with the producers of animal feed - Polmass and Ekoplon. The findings of UOKiK show that the entrepreneurs entered into agreements dividing the markets under which they did not sell their products to the clients of the other participant of the collusion, even if a potential contractor came to them himself. The agreements concerned two groups of feed products used in the rearing of cattle - milk replacers and mineral and vitamin mixtures, and lasted in 2008-2016 and 2008-2015, respectively.
- The collusion between Polmass and Ekoplon meant that cattle breeders or feed sellers were unable to freely choose their products. If they were customers of one company before, they could not buy the products of the other. As a result, the market offer for farmers and cattle breeders as well as feed sellers has narrowed down, says the President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny. - The agreement lasted many years, caused losses to breeders and sellers of animal feed. Hence, in the decision, I imposed high fines on entrepreneurs, in the total amount of over PLN 17 million - says President Tomasz Chróstny.
The financial sanctions for individual entrepreneurs amounted to: PLN 12,445,185 (approx € 2,8 mln) for Ekoplon and PLN 4,704,596 (approx € 1,1 mln) for Polmass. At the same time, another proceeding is underway, in which the President of UOKiK suspects that the market is divided by Polmass - in this case together with Agro-Netzwerk Polska.
The President of UOKiK also reminds that whoever has suffered damage as a result of infringement of competition law may file a claim with a civil court against any entity that has broken the law.
Full press release (Polish): https://www.uokik.gov.pl/aktualnosci.php?news_id=16723