UOKiK smells something foul in fertilizer industry

The investigation concerns these companies' commercial policies since 1998, as they are suspected of secret collusion. "We are in the European Union, under strict control of the European Commission, while EFMA [a group of Europe's largest fertilizer producers] reviews prices on the European market. There is no possibility for collusion," said Wojciech Lubiewa-Wieleżyński, president of the Polish Chamber of Chemical Industry (PIPC). Representatives of the five companies stressed that in March the prices of some types of fertilizer were slightly lower than a year before, despite the increased price of natural gas. "The level of prices has to be accepted by the client and it must cover manufacturing costs, which are going up along with increasing natural gas prices", said Małgorzata Iwanejko, president of Puławy nitrogen plant. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) M.M.