Egypt's Competition Authority (ECA) has referred 162 poultry companies and the General Union of Poultry Producers to the Public Prosecution over allegations of price-fixing in the broiler chick market. The ECA's board said on Saturday it had established evidence of three horizontal agreements among the producers to set daily prices for broiler chicks, in violation of Article 6(a) of the Competition Protection Law No. 3 of 2005. The authority alleges this collusion artificially inflated the prices of chicks and, subsequently, poultry meat, impacting consumers across Egypt. According to the ECA's investigation, the accused companies allegedly agreed daily on the prices for selling broiler chicks to poultry farmers. They also allegedly exchanged confidential commercial information, including market availability of chicks, execution prices, raw materials, feed costs, demand, and other essential data. The ECA stated that this resulted in inflated chick prices and monopolistic profit margins at the expense of Egyptian consumers. The authority said it obtained evidence confirming the daily agreements to fix broiler chick prices and establish a minimum selling price. This, it argued, limited competition among the companies and reduced farmers' options for better prices and offers. The investigation also implicated the General Union of Poultry Producers in the alleged price-fixing scheme. The ECA alleges the union participated by agreeing to, assisting with, and inciting the agreements through adherence to agreed average prices. The ECA said this gave credibility to the prohibited agreements and prolonged their duration, leading to increased prices for poultry farmers and consumers. The ECA emphasised that the General Union of Poultry Producers must comply with the Competition Protection Law and refrain from participating in illegal practices. The authority stated that the union's role is limited to protecting and increasing poultry production, developing investment in related activities, and improving production methods, without assisting in prohibited agreements or interfering in pricing. The ECA has ordered all accused parties to immediately cease any agreements regarding broiler chick prices and to determine selling prices individually based on supply and demand. The authority stressed that it will not tolerate such violations and is monitoring the market closely to prevent any recurrence. The ECA considers price-fixing a serious competition crime that disrupts free market mechanisms. The authority said it is essential that economic entities make decisions independently, but that the accused parties colluded to fix prices, restrict competition, and ensure high profit margins at the expense of consumers. The ECA acknowledged the cooperation of the Ministry of Agriculture and security agencies in the investigation. The case follows previous efforts to combat anti-competitive practices in the poultry sector. In May 2024, the ECA initiated criminal proceedings against seven major white broiler poultry brokers for allegedly agreeing to set the selling price per kilogram of live white broiler poultry. In September 2024, criminal proceedings were launched against 21 table egg producers for allegedly agreeing on the selling prices of table eggs. On 4 February, the Cairo Economic Court of Appeal upheld a ruling convicting four major table egg brokers for agreeing to fix table egg prices in violation of the Competition Protection Law. The ECA is urging anyone involved in anti-competitive practices to report the incident and take advantage of the leniency programme outlined in Article 26 of the Competition Protection Law, which offers immunity from penalties of up to 500 million Egyptian pounds. The ECA is also calling on citizens to report any anti-competitive practices in any market.
