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The Competition Authority fines 6 fruit and vegetable collection companies/Prices increased

2025-12-17 11:33:00, Aktualitet CNA

The Competition Authority fines 6 fruit and vegetable collection

The Competition Authority has fined 6 companies collecting and selling fruit and vegetables.

The news was announced by the Authority itself, where an official statement announced that the fine was imposed because they had increased prices to the detriment of farmers.

 

Competition Authority Notification

 

The Competition Authority completed the assessment of practices in the fruit and vegetable wholesale and collection market in the districts of Tirana, Elbasan, Berat, Fier and Korça, after an in-depth investigative procedure that lasted almost two years and included market monitoring, preliminary investigation and in-depth investigation.

 

At the meeting of 26.11.2025, the Competition Commission adopted decisions no. 1234–1239, by which it found that a group of collecting companies – Omer Fruit SHPK, Nedrete Arapi PF, Besim Thaqi PF, Morina Grup SHPK, Fruit-To-Zela SHPK and Roland-2012 SHPK – have coordinated purchase prices during the season periods, dictating prices to the detriment of farmers and applying very high mark-ups, up to 115%.

 

This concerted behavior constitutes a prohibited agreement under Article 4 of Law No. 9121/2003 and is considered a serious violation, for which the Commission has imposed fines of up to 0.15% of the turnover of the previous financial year.

 

Why this decision is important for farmers across Albania

 

The in-depth investigation showed that some collectors, thanks to their negotiating power, had created a situation where farmers often faced:

 

dictated and coordinated prices,

closed doors for negotiation,

excessive dependence on a few buyers,

pressure to reduce prices,

and late payment of payments.

The Competition Authority's decision directly addresses these issues and strengthens farmers' positions in the market, creating conditions for:

 

fairer and more transparent prices,

fair competition between collectors,

real choice for farmers,

more secure payments and more balanced contractual relationships,

curbing coordinated schemes that harmed the entire national market.

 

Furthermore, although 6 companies are fined, the effect of the decision extends to the entire national market, because:

 

brings clarity on prohibited practices,

sets new standards for price transparency,

aims to discipline the fruit and vegetable market,

and promotes fair competition for all actors.

This is a structural intervention with a direct impact on the food chain and a clear signal that the Competition Authority protects the interests of farmers, a category that often faces significant inequality in negotiations.

 

Obligations and corrective measures for collectors

 

The Commission has ordered the fined companies to:

 

to prominently display the current prices of the products they collect,

be subject to monitoring for 1 year by the Competition Authority.

These measures aim to increase transparency and create a fairer market for farmers.

 

Recommendations for the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development

 

With decision no. 1240, the Competition Commission has addressed the responsible institutions with important recommendations for market reform, including:

 

minimizing informality throughout the trade chain,

drafting a new legal basis in line with EU standards,

creation of a national online pricing platform (agri-food exchange),

establishing mandatory and standardized contracts,

and cooperation on the transposition of the EU Directive on Unfair Commercial Practices (UTP).

Through these decisions, the Competition Authority continues to fulfill its mission to guarantee free and fair competition, directly contributing to the protection of farmers, increased transparency and fairer functioning of the agri-food market in Albania.





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