The Competition Appellate Tribunal has disposed of the appeal filed by the Pakistan Poultry Association in a long-pending cartel case, upholding the decision of the Competition Commission of Pakistan while reducing the fine from Rs50 million to Rs25 million.
In its ruling, the tribunal stated that the reduction in the penalty was made in light of a similar judgment issued by the Supreme Court in 2022. The tribunal has directed the Poultry Association to deposit the revised fine within 15 days of receiving the decision.
It is noteworthy that in 2010, the Competition Commission of Pakistan imposed a fine of Rs50 million on the Poultry Association and its members over allegations of illegal collusion and cartelization in chicken and poultry product prices. This action marked the beginning of a prolonged legal process concerning cartel practices in the poultry sector.
Earlier, in 2009, the Competition Commission had initiated an inquiry following complaints of an unusual increase in the prices of chicken, eggs, feed, and particularly one-day-old broiler chicks. The investigation revealed that the price of a one-day-old broiler chick had surged from Rs6 to Rs71.90 by October 2009, despite the production cost being estimated at around Rs18 at the time.
Will Chicken Prices Decrease?
According to experts, the tribunal’s decision relates to a historical cartel case linked to pricing and market behavior during 2009 and 2010. The tribunal did not issue any direct order regarding current prices, rate lists, or the present market mechanism, making it unlikely that the ruling will have an immediate impact on prevailing chicken prices.
Experts further note that the reduced fine of Rs25 million is relatively small compared to the overall scale of the poultry industry. They argue that such a penalty neither creates sufficient deterrence in the market nor exerts meaningful pressure to control prices in the future.
