Islamabad – The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a collective fine of Rs155 million on eight of the country’s leading poultry hatcheries for engaging in a price-fixing cartel involving day-old broiler chicks (DOCs), in violation of Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!Following a suo motu investigation into irregularities in the DOC market, the CCP discovered that Sadiq Poultry, Hi-Tech Group, Islamabad Group, Olympia Group, Jadeed Group, Supreme Farms (Seasons Group), Big Bird Group, and Sabir’s Group had colluded to manipulate prices. The hatcheries coordinated their actions via a WhatsApp group called “Chick Rate Announcement,” managed by Big Bird Group’s senior official and Marketing Manager Dr. Shahid. Between 2019 and 2021, price-sensitive information was exchanged 198 times—108 via text messages and 87 on WhatsApp.
The cartel maintained uniform DOC prices across Punjab, which also impacted markets in Multan and Karachi. Between March 2020 and April 2021, the price of a day-old chick increased by 346%, from Rs17.92 to Rs79.92, contributing to a rise in chicken meat prices and burdening consumers across Pakistan.
Disturbingly, two high-ranking officials from the Pakistan Poultry Association (PPA), Dr. Abdul Karim (Chairman, Hatchery Affairs Committee) and Maj. (R) Syed Javaid Hussain Bukhari (PPA Secretary General), were part of the WhatsApp group but failed to intervene, implicitly endorsing the price-fixing activities.
The CCP condemned the cartel’s actions, stating,
“Trade associations must focus on sectoral growth, not price manipulation. Fixing prices is an exploitation of consumers and a distortion of fair market competition.”
Recent reports also indicated that DOC prices had surged to Rs230 per chick, despite the fair market value being around Rs78, raising fresh concerns about the ongoing cartel behavior.
The CCP urges citizens and stakeholders to report any anti-competitive conduct via its official complaint portal to preserve market integrity and protect consumers from unfair practices.