The Competition Council issued a warning following public statements about the formation of a deficit due to mass slaughter of animals:
“The Competition Council does not have the power to set, limit or change prices, nor can it sanction companies simply for raising the prices of its products. In a market economy, product prices are determined by economic factors. But we closely monitor market dynamics and intervene if there are suspicions of anti-competitive practices,” the agency said.
Such anticompetitive practices, as the Council explains, can be several aspects of supplier behavior. Sanctionable anticompetitive practices could be agreements between competitors, for example, if producers or traders agree to maintain a certain price level to the detriment of consumers. Or – abuse of dominant position, when a company, taking advantage of its advantages, restricts access to other players, creates artificial barriers to keep prices high in the domestic market.
Alexei Ghertsescu, Chairman of the Competition Council, told Logos Press that the Competition Council continues to analyze the situation on the pork market and closely monitor the behavior of the participants.
“We are collecting data from the main actors and assessing whether they have clear signs of anti-competitive practices. The agency can only initiate an investigation based on solid evidence and not just in response to price fluctuations. We will necessarily intervene in accordance with our statutory authority if such violations are found. Therefore, we encourage producers, suppliers, trade and consumers to report any suspicious behavior to us,” said Alexei Ghercescu.
