The Hungarian Competition Office fines a cartel in the agricultural sector in spite of intensive involvement of the State (Egg Cartel)

The HCO initiated proceedings against the Hungarian Association of Egg Producers (HAEP) and some of its members in 2005 in order to verify whether the HAEP and its members breached the cartel prohibition contained in Article 11 of the Hungarian Competition Act (HCA) and Article 81 of the EC Treaty by various practices between 1990 and 2005. After a long and detailed investigation, the HCO found in its decision brought on 30 November 2006 under n° Vj-199/2005 that the HAEP has breached the prohibition of anti-competitive agreements on various occasions between 2002 and 2005 – (i) by operating a price committee to set the target price for eggs; – (ii) by setting and recommending minimum prices within the framework of its operating body; – (iii) by operating a short-lived import