Collectors, agreement to the detriment of farmers - The Competition Authority fines 6 entities: They dictated prices during the season
A group of companies in the fruit and vegetable collection and wholesale market in the districts of Tirana, Elbasan, Berat, Fier and Korça have been found to have coordinated purchase prices during seasonal periods, dictating prices to the detriment of farmers and applying very high cost surcharges, up to 115%.
The Competition Authority reached this conclusion after an in-depth investigative procedure that lasted almost two years and included market monitoring, preliminary investigation and in-depth investigation.
The Competition Commission has found that the group of collecting companies – Omer Fruit SHPK, Nedrete Arapi PF, Besim Thaqi PF, Morina Grup SHPK, Fruit-To-Zela SHPK and Roland-2012 SHPK have entered into a prohibited agreement to the detriment of farmers, which, according to the law, is considered a serious violation. For this reason, the Commission has imposed fines of up to 0.15% of the turnover of the previous financial year.
The in-depth investigation showed that some collectors, thanks to their negotiating power, had created a situation where farmers often faced: dictated and coordinated prices, closed doors to negotiation, excessive dependence on a few buyers, pressures to reduce prices, and late payment settlements.
The Competition Authority's decision directly addresses these issues and strengthens farmers' positions in the market, creating conditions for: fairer and more transparent prices; fair competition between collectors; real choice for farmers; more secure payments and more balanced contractual relationships; curbing coordinated schemes that harmed the entire national market.
The Commission has also ordered the 6 fined companies to prominently display the current prices of the products they collect and to be subject to monitoring for 1 year by the Competition Authority.
These measures aim to increase transparency and create a fairer market for farmers.
The Competition Commission has also addressed the responsible institutions with important recommendations for market reform, including: minimizing informality throughout the trading chain; drafting a new legal basis in line with EU standards; creating a national online pricing platform (agri-food exchange); establishing binding and standardized contracts; and cooperating on the transposition of the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices (UTP).
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