Sumy regional division of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has fined six dairies with UAH 77,000 for anti-competitive concert.
Ukrainian News has learned this from the Antimonopoly Committee press service.
In particular, they fined Wimm-Bill-Dann Ukraine, Aromat, Ros', MalKA-Trans, Hadiachsyr, and Shostka city dairy.
According to the committee, these enterprises, beginning from late 2007 simultaneously decreased prices of buying milk from population of Sumy region, to UAH 1.8-1.3 from UAH 2 per liter.
At the same time, prices of these enterprises' buying milk from the region farms remain the same.
Moreover, decreasing purchase prices of milk, price for ready dairy products rose.
Conclusions of the investigations performed, show that such actions of the enterprises were possible because of their considerable market share and absence of severe competition from other dairies in the region.
The fined enterprises did not provide to the Committee confirmation of relevance of their actions.
The committee decided that each of the five enterprises that acknowledged their violations fined with UAH 12,000, and Hadiachsyr with UAH 17,000.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Association of Dairy Enterprises expects season decline in purchasing prices of milk from population by 11% or UAH 0.2 to UAH 1.5 per liter, and from farms - by 10.6-13% or UAH 0.2-0.3 to UAH 2-2.1 per liter in spring-summer period.
