On 23 June 2025, the Polish competition authority ("UOKiK") announced that it had filed charges against 11 companies and 5 managers, alleging their involvement in an illegal cartel in the agricultural machinery distribution system.

The case concerns suspected market sharing and price fixing for tractors and combine harvesters manufactured by Valtra, Fendt and Massey Ferguson, as well as spare parts for Valtra and Fendt machines.

UOKiK brought charges against AGCO, the wholesale distributor that offers these vehicles and spare parts in Poland, alongside 10 independent dealers who sell the machinery to farmers.

These charges followed earlier proceedings initiated with a series of searches at the companies' premises, as announced by UOKiK in June 2023. 

As a result of those searches, two further cases of a very similar nature are also being conducted by UOKiK. These parallel investigation target CHN Industrial Poland (distributing machinery manufactured by New Holland, Case and Steyr) and Claas Poland (distributing Class machinery) along with their respective independent dealers. In the parallel investigations, 17 entities are being scrutinized by the UOKiK.

The suspected cartel mechanisms

UOKiK suggests a common anti-competitive pattern across all investigations.

According to UOKiK, AGCO, CHN Industrial Poland, and Claas Poland each have allegedly divided the Polish market by assigning dealers to specific areas of Poland.

• Territorial allocation: Wholesale distributors allegedly assigned dealers to specific geographic areas, preventing them from serving customers outside their designated territories.
• Passive sales restrictions: When farmers approached dealers outside their allocated areas for more competitive offers, they were reportedly referred back to dealers in their own region, given inflated prices, or otherwise discouraged from buying outside their allocated zones.
• Information exchange: Dealers allegedly coordinated their responses to customer inquiries, sharing price information to ensure farmers would receive higher quotes from dealers outside their designated areas than from their local dealer.
• Enforcement mechanism: When dealers attempted to break territorial restrictions, other participants could reportedly complain to the respective wholesale distributors (i.e. respectively AGCO, CHN Industrial Poland or Claas Poland), who would intervene to maintain the market allocation.

Legal framework and penalties

Market sharing and price fixing are considered hardcore cartel violations under both Polish and EU competition law. Such conduct is among the most serious infringements as it directly harms consumers by eliminating price competition and restricting choice.

Companies found guilty of participating in competition-restricting agreements face possible fines of up to 10% of their annual turnover while individual managers responsible for cartel participation can be fined up to PLN 2 million.

Broader implications

These parallel investigations span multiple major brands and involve both wholesale distributors and retail dealers. Should UOKiK’s allegations be substantiated, they would reveal the systematic nature of anti-competitive practices across Poland's agricultural machinery sector.

Such cases illustrate the vulnerability of specialized distribution networks to cartel practices, particularly in industries where only a limited number of authorised dealers operate. Therefore, the agricultural machinery market's characteristics - including high-value purchases, specialized products, and geographically dispersed customers - may be susceptible to territorial allocation schemes.

If you need more information or further guidance in this area, please contact Marcin Alberski and Stanislaw Szymanek.

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