Romania fines 21 agri-input suppliers EUR 16 million for price fixing

Romania’s Competition Council has fined 21 companies a combined RON 83.2 million (EUR 15.9 million) for participating in anti-competitive agreements that fixed resale prices for crop seeds and crop protection products, the authority said.

The investigation found that seed and crop protection producers Pioneer Hi-Bred Romania, Corteva Crop Solutions Romania, formerly DuPont Romania, and Maisadour Semences Romania had reached agreements with distributors over the prices at which certain products would be sold to farmers during agricultural campaigns.

The arrangements involved contractual provisions and a voucher system that effectively determined the resale prices charged to farmers.

Under the voucher scheme, producers offered farmers coupons covering eligible products and discounts, while allowing farmers to select the distributor from which to make their purchases. However, the final price paid after applying the voucher had already been established between the producer and distributor.

The Competition Council said the mechanism allowed producers to influence market prices, while distributors gained greater predictability over sales volumes and, in some cases, received discounts for participating in the campaigns.

" We are not against the system through which vouchers are granted, but the price recommended by the manufacturer must not be transformed, in practice, into a fixed price, i.e., mandatory," Competition Council president Bogdan Chirițoiu said.

"Distributors must independently establish their resale prices for farmers, who will thus fully benefit from the competition between them, through more advantageous prices through additional discounts," he added.

The authority said companies can contact the Competition Council for guidance on applying competition rules to such commercial arrangements.

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