Budapest, March 13, 2025 – In accordance with the judgment of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court, the Hungarian Competition Authority (GVH) has reopened its competition supervision proceedings concerning the cartel conduct of Nitrogénművek Zrt. The Court upheld the GVH’s original findings with respect to the most serious infringements – price-fixing and market sharing. The GVH remains committed to ensuring that Nitrogénművek Zrt. cannot evade liability for its unlawful conduct or the consequences arising from it.
In October 2021, the Hungarian Competition Authority imposed a record fine of HUF 11 billion on the Nitrogénművek Group after finding that, together with other market participants, it had unlawfully restricted competition in the Hungarian fertiliser market for several years. Half of the undertakings involved voluntarily acknowledged their participation in the cartel, while Nitrogénművek Zrt. – together with another undertaking – challenged the GVH’s decision before the courts.
On 3 October 2024, the Budapest-Capital Regional Court delivered its judgment in the judicial review proceedings concerning the GVH’s decision. While the Court partially upheld Nitrogénművek Zrt.’s action, it confirmed the Hungarian Competition Authority’s original findings regarding the most serious infringements, namely price-fixing and market sharing. At the same time, it instructed the GVH to reopen the proceedings with respect to certain aspects of the case, including the scope of the price-fixing and market-sharing arrangements and the level of the fine imposed.
As the GVH remained firmly convinced that the original decision of its Competition Council was well-founded, it sought a review before the Kúria (Supreme Court of Hungary). The Kúria dismissed the request, holding that „the case did not raise any legal issue requiring guidance from the supreme judicial forum.” As a result, and in accordance with the judgment of the Budapest-Capital Regional Court, the Hungarian Competition Authority has reopened its proceedings concerning the cartel conduct of Nitrogénművek Zrt.
Agreements aimed at fixing prices or allocating markets – in other words, cartels – are considered the most serious infringements of competition law because of the significant harm they can cause to the economy and society. In the fertiliser cartel case, the restriction of price competition among distributors meant that Hungarian farmers may have been forced to pay higher prices during the infringement period than they would have under normal competitive conditions, thereby suffering financial harm. Since fertilisers are an essential input for nutrient replenishment in crop production, the increased costs borne by agricultural producers may also have been passed on through the food supply chain, potentially harming Hungarian consumers as well.
Case reference number: VJ/41/2017
GVH Press Office