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In the exercise of its missions and powers provided for by the Constitution, Law No. 20-13 on the Competition Council, as well as Law 104-12 on price freedom and competition, as amended and supplemented, aiming at regulating competition in markets and protecting consumer interests, the Competition Council took up the matter ex officio and initiated an investigation to verify the existence of alleged anticompetitive practices in the industrial sardine supply market.
The investigative actions carried out by the investigation and inquiry services under the Competition Council have gathered sufficient evidence to characterize the existence of anticompetitive collusion practices implemented by several players in the industrial sardine supply markets.
These anticompetitive collusions, which aimed to restrict competition in the industrial sardine supply market for a period of 20 years, notably involved:
- Concerted fixing of prices for the first sale of industrial sardines, thus obstructing price formation through market forces by artificially favoring their increase or decrease;
- Concerted distribution and limitation of production, limiting market access and the free exercise of competition by other players.
In this regard, the General Rapporteur of the Competition Council states that, in accordance with the provisions of Article 29 of the aforementioned Law No. 104-12, grievances have been notified to 15 professional organizations involved in these alleged anticompetitive practices in the industrial sardine supply market, representing the following categories: (i) shipowners, (ii) industrial units engaged in the processing and valorization of industrial fish, and (iii) fishmongers involved in the purchase of halieutic products at their first sale after fishing, for their marketing.
This notification of grievances addressed to the parties concerned initiates the adversarial procedure and ensures the exercise of the defense rights of said parties.
| Legal framework reminder:
Anticompetitive collusion is strictly prohibited by Article 6 of Law No. 104-12 as amended and supplemented, which stipulates that: “Actions, agreements, or coalitions, whether express or tacit, in any form and for any reason, are prohibited when they aim to prevent, restrict, or distort competition in a market, especially when they tend to: 1. limit market access or the free exercise of competition by other companies; 2. obstruct price formation through market forces by artificially favoring their increase or decrease; 3. limit or control production, outlets, investments, or technical progress; 4. allocate markets, sources of supply, or public markets“. This prohibition of collusions aims to protect the efficient functioning of the market and consumer interests. Indeed, when implemented, collusions can lead to artificially high prices, lower quality, or a reduced choice of products and services. |
It should be noted, finally, that the notification of grievances addressed by the investigation and inquiry services does not prejudge the final decision of the Council. Indeed, only the Competition Council’s College can, after an adversarial investigation respecting the defense rights of the parties involved and after a Council session, rule on the merits of the grievances in question.
Done in Rabat, May 8, 2025
