• President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny proclaimed market allocation by animal feed producers - collusion limited the freedom of product choice for farmers and sellers of milk replacers.
• Polmass company was charged with a penalty of PLN 2.5 million. The second participant of the prohibited collusion – Agro-Netzwerk Polska – avoided sanctions through cooperation with the Office under the leniency programme.

Competition-restricting agreements may take on different forms. Market allocation is one of them. Instead of competing fairly, entrepreneurs agree not to compete in a given area and to share the area, goods or groups of clients. As a result, potential trading partners are deprived of the opportunity to purchase products from selected sellers. The lack of competition also leads to higher prices for products or services.

President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny has issued a decision in a which he proclaimed market allocation by Polmass and Agro-Netzwerk Polska. The collusion concerned the sale of milk replacers for cattle, i.e. mixtures used to feed young animals.

- The antitrust proceeding revealed that entrepreneurs have shared the market between themselves. They agreed that they would not sell their products to clients of the other party to the collusion, even if a potential trading partner would contact them on their own. The collusion lasted 7 years and during that period cattle farmers or feed sellers were deprived of the possibility of choosing preparations freely. If they had been clients of one company before, they could not have purchased products of the other one. With no competing for customers, product sales prices remained higher - President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny says.

The collusion lasted from July 2010 to April 2017. At that time, the traders monitored whether the other party was complying with the agreed conditions and initiated measures when the colluding party breached the terms of the prohibited agreement. One piece of evidence is an e-mail sent by a Polmass’s employee to Agro-Netzwerk Polska.

I’ve got an ‘intel’ that you’re still selling to OSM (…), which makes it very difficult for us to maintain current commercial relations with OSM. (…) We’d better stick to the accepted rule of not competing with each other. (…) My advisors really grumble about this state of cooperation, so I personally ask you to “remedy” this situation and return to the accepted principle.

Information on the details of the collusion, including electronic correspondence between entrepreneurs, was obtained by the Office during the search at the companies’ seats, and from one of the collusion participants.

For the participation in market allocation practices, I imposed a fine of more than PLN 2.5 million on the Polmass company. The other party to the collusion - Agro-Netzwerk took the advantage of the leniency programme. The company provided evidence relevant for the proceedings and fully cooperated with the Office, which is why I decided not to impose a financial penalty on this entrepreneur. We want to show that cooperation with the Office pays off - it is worth pleading guilty before we identify irregularities and initiate our own proceedings. At the same time, those who suffered damage as a result of a prohibited agreement may, under civil proceedings, claim compensation from any of its participants, including an entity released from financial penalty under the leniency programme – President of UOKiK Tomasz Chróstny says.

This is not the first decision on Polmass’s market allocation practices. In 2020, President of the Office Tomasz Chróstny imposed a penalty on the company for the prohibited agreement with Ekoplon. The penalties imposed at that time amounted to PLN 12.4 million for Ekoplon and PLN 4.7 million for Polmass.

The decision is not final and may be appealed against to court. Maximum penalty for the participation in a restrictive agreement amounts up to 10% of the entrepreneur’s turnover achieved in the year preceding the issuance of the decision.

Entrepreneurs and managers interested in the leniency programme are encouraged to contact UOKiK. By calling a dedicated number: 22 55 60 555, you will be able to talk to UOKiK lawyers, who will answer all of your questions related to leniency applications - also those asked anonymously.

We would also like to remind you that UOKiK runs a programme of acquiring information from anonymous whistle-blowers. Visit https://konkurencja.uokik.gov.pl/sygnalista/ and fill out a simple form. The pan-European system we rely on guarantees full anonymity, also towards the Authority’s staff.

The President of the Authority would like to remind the public that anyone who has suffered a loss as a result of a breach of competition law may file a civil lawsuit against any of the entities that have violated the law. When filing a claim, it is necessary to indicate the amount of compensation sought. In determining the amount due, consideration should be given to the counterfactual scenario, i.e. what the market situation would have been like in the absence of the infringement. As a rule, the loss shall be the excess price paid as a result of the anti-competitive practices.

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
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Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL