• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has initiated proceedings against Pfeifer & Langen Polska.
• The company may have been using its contractual advantage against farmers.
• The Office is also going to examine the practices of other sugar producers.

Pfeifer & Langen is one of the largest sugar producers in Poland. The President of UOKiK is concerned about provisions of contracts with farmers, according to which cultivators may buy seeds only from Pfeifer & Langen. If other seeds are used, the company reserves the right to refuse to buy such beetroot.

- The activities of Pfeifer & Langen deprive cultivators of their freedom to choose seeds that are appropriate, for instance, for a given type of soil or local weather conditions. This is why I have initiated proceedings concerning a suspicion of unfair use of contractual advantage. If seeds from another source are used, the sugar concern will refuse to accept the beetroot, and so all the hard work of the farmer will go to waste – says President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny.

Pfeifer & Langen may face a penalty of up to 3 % of its turnover.

Sugar concerns under scrutiny by UOKiK

This is not the first UOKiK intervention on the sugar production market. In 2019, the Office issued a decision in which it obliged Sudzucker Polska to change practices unfavourable to farmers.

- The protection of Polish farmers is an important part of the Office’s activity. This is why, apart from the proceedings against Pfeifer & Langen, I have also launched an investigation procedure to check whether other sugar producers in Poland are not using their contractual advantage over farmers in a similar way – says President Tomasz Chróstny.

Proceedings against 100 entities on the agri-food market

The agri-food market is under close scrutiny by the President of UOKiK. Recently, proceedings against one hundred largest entities on this market have been concluded. Following the intervention of President Tomasz Chróstny, the majority of entrepreneurs disbursed the outstanding money to their suppliers and removed the questioned provisions from their trade policies and concluded contracts. The activities of the entities that have not changed their practices are being investigated under proceedings concerning unfair use of contractual advantage. The entities are: Auchan Polska, Eurocash, Makro Cash and Carry Polska, and SCA Intermarche.

Entrepreneur, farmer – if you are operating in the agri-food industry and your trading partner took the advantage of the COVID-19 situation to amend the terms and conditions of the cooperation to your disadvantage or is failing to make payments on time – report it to UOKiK. We have launched a special form to assist you in reporting irregularities. You can fill it out here: https://ankieta.uokik.gov.pl/formularz-zgloszenie-przewaga/.

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL