Nine poultry producers indicted on price-fixing charges: Authorities have indicted nine poultry producers for market manipulation and anti-competitive practices. The companies could face trial before one of the nation’s economic courts, according to Al Borsa. The case relates to incidents from 2013, which the Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) believed showed evidence of price manipulation from 13 producers. Al Borsa says companies probed by the ECA at the time included Al Daqahliyah Poultry, Cairo Poultry, Al Arabiya for Mother Chicken, and Al Watania Poultry. The ECA accused the companies of manipulating the poultry market to keep chicken prices artificially low, driving out smaller producers out of the market and restricting future supply.

Price to consumers shot up after allegedly rigged supply contraction: The indictment claims that the number of birds available on the market was effectively reduced to 700 mn in 2016 from 1.2 bn in 2010, driving up consumer prices. The head of the Egyptian Poultry Association says manipulating the market became easier after the poultry exchange was disbanded after 2011, removing clear price indications from the market, and adds that the “cartel” might have colluded in the past to prevent poultry imports.