Pakistan tribunal upholds poultry cartel ruling, halves fine on industry group

Pakistan’s Competition Appellate Tribunal has upheld a long-standing ruling against the Pakistan Poultry Association for cartelization, while reducing the financial penalty imposed on the industry body, officials said Sunday.

The tribunal upheld an earlier order by the Competition Commission of Pakistan, which in 2010 found the association and its members guilty of colluding to fix poultry prices in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act. However, it reduced the fine from PKR 50 million to PKR 25 million and directed the association to deposit the amount within 15 days of receiving the order.

The decision brings to a close a case that has remained under litigation for more than a decade and has been closely watched as a test of enforcement against cartel behavior in Pakistan’s poultry sector.

During the proceedings, the association’s counsel told the tribunal that the appellant had no objection to the appeal being decided in line with a 2022 Supreme Court judgment in a similar cartel case, in which the apex court had taken a more lenient approach and reduced the penalty.

Relying on the Supreme Court’s reasoning and with the consent of the appellant, the tribunal said the facts of the poultry case were largely comparable and reduced the penalty accordingly. The tribunal disposed of the appeal without re-examining the merits of the case.

The Competition Commission has previously described cartelization in the poultry sector as harmful to consumers, citing coordinated price-setting practices that distort markets and raise costs.