The National Competition Agency, based on the address of the member of the Parliament of Georgia, monitored the glass waste collection/recycling market. According to the monitoring, it was established, that the annual volume of the market is small and does not exceed 2 million GEL. Recently, a new company has entered the glass waste collection market, as a result of which the amount of collected waste, the selling price, and also the number of individuals/legal entities, from which glass waste collection is carried out have increased.
According to the Agency's decision, there were no risks of violation of Georgian competition legislation in the mentioned market. Therefore, there is no basis for continuous monitoring.
Pharmaceutical market monitoring covers the 2016-2020 period. The monitoring process is divided into 2 parts: general economic analysis and analysis of specific / selected medications. The main object of the Agency's study was the retail prices of medicines, assessing the impact of the main circumstances affecting the price change on the formation of the retail price. As part of the monitoring, 13 recommendations have been issued by the National Competition Agency. The monitoring was launched based on the recommendations given in the report -"The Situation in Human Rights and Freedoms in Georgia, 2017” by the Public Defender of Georgia and the resolution of the Parliament of Georgia.
Competition Agency has completed the monitoring of the wheat and bread market, the main goal of which was to study the compliance of the price of bread with the competitive environment on December 10, 2018.
The study was focused on the flour and wheat markets, as they impact the bread price change. In accordance with the current legislation, international practice, and recommendations, the compliance of a specific fact of increasing the price of bread with competition law has been studied, as well as other circumstances identified during the monitoring.
As a result of the in-depth analysis conducted within the monitoring, according to the position of the Agency, the specific fact of an increase of bread price on December 10, 2018, is reasonable and compatible with the competitive environment in the market, was a reasonable / cost-based decision of companies, otherwise, it would be impossible to carry out profitable economic activities.
Competition Agency of Georgia has completed the monitoring of Retail Chain Stores Market, which has started on the base of the submission of Beka Natsvlishvili- Member of Parliament and Georgian Business Distributors Association.
During the monitoring process, the Agency should have found out the existed problematic issues, identified by the Association between the distribution companies and the retail chain, whether they were compatible with the Law of Georgia on Competition. Based on the information obtained by the Agency, there was not identified violation of Article 6 (Abuse of Dominant Position), accordingly, there was not any particular retail chain store with a dominant condition on the relevant market. Also, the fact of an alleged violation of Article 7 (Restrictive Agreements, Decisions, and Concerted Practices) of the law has not revealed. Finally, based on the study and analysis of international practice, the Agency issued the recommendation about starting the preparation of a legislative initiative to pass the legal norms for protecting the rights of weaker players on the retail market. As well as, the recommendation has given to the undertakings of the relevant market
Competition Agency of Georgia monitored Baby Food Market. The agency monitored the adapted formulas for infant feeding under 6 months on the relevant market, the study was conducted in 2014-2019. Considering the market concentration index, the proportional distribution of big companies, and other factors studied for competition assessment on the market during the monitoring process, the agency revealed that the relevant market was compatible with the competitive environment.
The Competition Agency of Georgia monitored the Online Hotel Booking Platforms market. The monitoring revealed that certain economic agents that had built broad MFN terms in their contracts (best price guarantee). In line with the best international practice, the agency required to them to correct broad MFN conditions and this requirement was fulfilled until the monitoring finished.
The Competition Agency of Georgia monitored passenger air transportation market and assess the competitive environment on the market. The monitoring has shown the following characteristics of the market: the existence of the healthy competitive environment, market was expanding and widening and there were not any artificial barriers for market entry.
The Competition Agency of Georgia conducted Coffee Market Monitoring. The monitoring has not revealed any factual circumstances that violated competition legislation, however, the Agency issued several recommendations toward the relevant authority regarding the stricter quality control of the products and necessity for further elaboration of the adulterants in coffee products.
