FAS checks 12 chicken and egg producers for collusion due to rising prices

The Federal Antimonopoly Service is conducting anti-cartel inspections against 12 producers of chicken eggs and chicken meat due to increased prices in the wholesale segment. How reported FAS press service, inspections were carried out in the Tyumen, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, Novgorod, Omsk, Tambov, Rostov regions, the Republic of Tatarstan, and the Stavropol Territory.

According to the FAS message, not all verification activities have yet been completed; there are no results yet. The FAS clarified that in case of violations of the law on the protection of competition (Article 14.32 of the Code of Administrative Offenses), antimonopoly cases will be initiated. The press service also recalled that Art. 178 of the Criminal Code “Restriction of Competition” is the only “antimonopoly” article for which criminal liability is provided.

“In one of the regions, agency employees encountered obstruction in carrying out inspection activities,” the FAS clarified. It is not reported which region we are talking about.

By data Rosstat, eggs and chicken became the leaders in price growth in October. Compared to September, they rose in price by 13.1%, since the beginning of the year – by 18.7%. In the week of November 8 to November 13, chicken eggs have become more expensive by 3.4%. Today, November 16, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Rostov region Konstantin Rachalovsky explainedthat eggs are becoming more expensive due to the fact that they are in short supply after outbreaks of bird flu in poultry farms.