No banned deal unveiled in cooking oil trade

TIRANA, June 5 – The Competition Authority has failed to find any banned deal among the three main companies operating in the import, production and trade of cooking oil. The investigation into Erbion, Olim and Crystal cooking oil companies which have a market share of 66 percent covered the January-October 2012 period when the competition watchdog doubted limited competition and possible price-fixing.
The Competition Authority says it will continue monitoring the market on the manufacturing, import and wholesale trade of cooking oil.
“The wholesale trade cooking oil market has characteristics of an oligopoly market with five enterprises operating and three companies under investigation having a market share of 65.81 percent,” says the Authority, adding that it was unable to find any evidence of direct or indirect cooperation among the competitors in possible price-fixing deal.
Preliminary results show the domestic manufacturing vegetable oil market remains highly concentrated with only two companies Olim and Vajra Bimore which have a 60 percent and 40 percent market share respectively. For the first 8 months of 2012, the Authority said Olim had gained a 20 percent market share compared to 2011 in the domestic production of vegetable oil. Both companies import unprocessed vegetable oil and launch it for wholesale trade after processing it.
The wholesale trade prices have not reflected price decreases in time and have reacted immediately after price increases in international markets, the Authority had warned.
The analysis by the Competition Authority shows the vegetable oil import and wholesale trade markets also remain highly concentrated.