According to the antitrust watchdog, HOLCIM ROMANIA was fined RON90.9 million (EUR18.2 million); ROMCIM got a RON66.1 million fine (EUR13.3 million) and HEIDELBERG MATERIALS ROMANIA was fined RON60.94 million (EUR12.2 million).
Following the investigation, the competition authority found that, at least between 2017 and 2018, the three cement producers exchanged sensitive commercial information (information on future prices, discounts, payment conditions, payment deadlines, quantities, volumes, etc.) through certain clients.
Thus, each of the three producers implemented mechanisms for the internal organization and use of information collected from customers through regional sales agents. In this way, they had access to non-public information (not shelf prices), which they centralized, monitored and used to establish commercial strategies in terms of price policy.
“Each company involved could reasonably foresee that information about its own commercial conditions would reach the other producers. The behavior reduced competition, which led to higher cement prices compared to neighboring countries,” said Bogdan Chiritoiu, President of the Competition Council.
The competition authority monitors the construction materials market, given the strategic importance of the construction sector for economic and social development.In this context, cement is an indispensable material, being used both for the preparation of concrete and as the main ingredient for a multitude of building materials.
In recent years, Romania’s construction sector has been on an upward trend. Thus, even during the Covid-19 pandemic, construction works saw a significant increase of about 18% vs 2019. Subsequently, amid the energy crisis that followed the medical crisis, construction volumes continued to grow at an annual rate of around 12-15%, with 2024 marking a relative stabilization of the sector.