Commission Adjourns Industry Hearing

PAKISTAN - The competition commission has adjourned to allow the poultry industry to submit evidence in a case in which it has been alleged that the industry has been behaving in an uncompetitive manner.

4 August 2010

2 minute read

Asia

The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) conducted a hearing on the matter of possible anti-competitive behaviour by the poultry industry, reports The Tribune of Pakistan. Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA) representatives requested for time as they had been unable to gather the required data to make a comprehensive reply.

The CCP adjourned the hearing for 10 days on assurances of the PPA central chairman that they would submit evidence and a comprehensive reply soon. This was after they had denied the first request for three weeks on grounds that the hearing would rely on the PPA's own documents that had been collected during the inspection of its offices by CCP officers. And because association representatives had failed to file a reply despite the fact that almost 18 days had passed since the issuance of the show-cause notice.

The hearing into this matter will now be conducted on 13 August. The bench pointed out that the PPA should consider its leniency programme while formulating the reply.

The show-cause notice was issued to PPA after an inquiry report into possible anti-competitive behaviour in the poultry industry revealed that, prima facie, PPA and its committees regularly took decisions regarding pricing, production and sale of various poultry products.