Chairman of the Küle Competition Authority: We are sensitive to price increases in red meat

Birol Küle, Chairman of the Competition Authority, stated that the Authority is extremely sensitive to price increases in red meat, which has an important place in consumers’ nutrition and budget, and said: “Our Authority continues to work to detect anti-competitive practices”. behaviors in the sector and severely penalize these behaviors”.

According to TUIK data, meat prices, which rose 19.9 percent from the previous month and 60 percent since the beginning of the year, prompted the Competition Authority. According to the information obtained, the Authority has closely followed the price increases in the red meat sector in recent days.

In today’s written statement, Küle stated that one of the most important issues that has been on the public agenda lately is the price of red meat in the country.

FOLLOWING THE COMPETITION AUTHORITY

Noting that red meat prices have risen significantly, especially in recent months, with the high rate of increase in succession, Küle made the following assessment:

“These price increases for red meat, which is one of the most basic foods, are undoubtedly closely followed by the Competition Authority and other relevant public institutions. In fact, our Institution has been carrying out studies on the red meat sector since 2022, and extensive investigations are currently underway on the ventures and associations of ventures that operate in the sector.

Küle affirmed that in these exams, which aim to scrutinize the red meat market in a way that covers the country, the structural and regulatory problems of the sector, the market behavior of enterprises and associations of enterprises in the sector are discussed.

FINES MAY APPLY

Noting that examinations of such market behaviors focus on whether there is any formation in the market that violates competition rules, Küle said:

“In this framework, it is mainly evaluated whether rival companies are in an agreement limiting competition, if there are decisions or actions by business associations to prevent competition in the sector, and if there are anticompetitive behaviors in relations of the big commitments in the market with the retailers.

Because these behaviors contrary to the rules of competition can directly or indirectly lead to an increase in the prices of red meat. In case of detection of these behaviors, which violate the Law for the Defense of Competition No. 4054, administrative fines of up to 10 percent of the turnover of the companies in question can be imposed.

Our institution is extremely sensitive to price increases for red meat, which has an important place in consumer nutrition and budgets, and continues its efforts to detect anti-competitive behavior in the sector and severely penalize these behaviors.” (AA)