The company ANTEA CEMENT JSC was fined in the amount of 97,700,736 Lek for serious violation of Article 9, point 2, letters “a” and “c”, of Law no. 9121/2003 “On the protection of competition”.
During 2022, the Secretariat of the Competition Authority has monitored the cement production/import and wholesale market, in order to identify whether or not there are signs of restriction, distortion or obstruction of competition in this market. At the end of this monitoring, the Competition Commission with decision no. 895, dated 05.07.2022, decided to open a preliminary investigation in the cement production/import and wholesale market, to assess whether there are signs of restriction of competition, according to the provisions of article 4 and 9 of law no. 9121/2003. Referring to the conclusions of the preliminary investigation, the Competition Commission with decision no. 969, dated 24.03.2023, decided to open the in-depth investigation procedure in the gray and white cement production and wholesale market, for the period from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2023.
In continuation of the procedure, after the execution of the inspections and the analysis of the data, the report of the in-depth investigation was drawn up, which was made known to the company Antea Cement JSC.
From the in-depth investigation, it was found that, based on the market share of this company, barriers to market entry, economic and financial power, potential competition, the countervailing power of buyers and the homogeneity of the products, the company Antea Cement JSC has a dominant position in the market of wholesale of gray cement within the country, namely for cement 32.5 R in bags, for the years 2019-2022, and cement 42.5 R bulk, for the years 2021-2022.
From the analysis of the sales prices of the company Antea Cement Albania JSC for the gray cement products 32.5 R with bags and 42.5 R bulk, the comparison of the average sales price with the average cost of production and the comparison of the average sales prices of the products inside and outside the country results that: the company Antea Cement Albania JSC applies excessive prices that have no reasonable relation to the economic value of the product, as there is a significant difference between the average monthly sales price according to the types of cement and the average monthly cost of cement production; in 2020, the average selling price of the product has increased, although the average cost of cement production has decreased; the selling price of cement abroad is lower than the domestic selling price; the company Antea Cement JSC has applied a lower price for one of its client companies in relation to other clients, for the period under investigation; meanwhile, for another company, it has unilaterally imposed unfair and unequal conditions for the same commercial actions with its customers, placing them in unfavorable competitive conditions, behavior which contradicts Article 9, point 2, letter a) and c), of law no. 9121/2003.
As mentioned above, the Competition Commission with decision no. 1091 dated 01/07/2024 decided to close the in-depth investigation procedure in the market for the production and sale of gray and white cement, as well as:
- Finding the abuse of the dominant position of the enterprise ANTEA CEMENT JSC in the gray cement production and wholesale market.
III. The fine of the company ANTEA CEMENT JSC for serious violation of competition, specifically Article 9, point 2, letters a) and c), of law no. 9121/2003, in the amount of 97,700,736 (ninety-seven million seven hundred thousand seven hundred and thirty-six) Lek
- Monitoring the behavior of the company Antea Cement JSC, for a period of 1 (one) year from the date of issue of this decision.
For more information, please consult the official website of the Competition Authority at http://caa.gov.al.