TIRANA, June 14 – Albania’s competition authority has launched an enquiry into two companies dominating the packaged milk industry on suspicions of a banned deal and abuse of their dominant position. The probe into Lushnja-based Lufra and Berat-based Erzeni companies in southern Albania came after a preliminary investigation showed the two companies dominating about 80 percent of the packaged milk and yogurt market have applied almost identical wholesale prices and fixed retail prices with no seasonal changes during the past two years.
Albania has yet to meet safety standards to export milk to the EU countries, but successfully sells in neighboring countries, especially Kosovo where a trade war and contamination allegations took an Albanian company to bankruptcy a couple of years ago.
Domestic milk production has almost remained unchanged at 1.1 million metric tons during the past decade. Albania has 500,000 heads of livestock dominated by dairy cows with about three-quarters.
