The President of UOKiK has issued a decision concerning a long-running cartel in the sale of agricultural machinery and spare parts in Poland, concluding that farmers were deprived of genuine price competition for more than a decade. The decision, issued on 8 December 2025, confirms that a territorial market-sharing and resale price maintenance scheme operated within the Claas distribution network for at least 11 years.
According to the findings, farmers using Claas machinery were systematically prevented from freely choosing dealers and comparing competing offers. When attempting to obtain quotations from dealers outside their assigned territory, customers were redirected to the “local” dealer or offered artificially inflated prices. This mechanism effectively eliminated competition between authorised sellers and locked farmers into higher-than-competitive prices.
The infringing agreement involved Claas’s Polish distributor, Claas Polska, and five authorised dealers: Agro Sznajder WKP, Przedsiębiorstwo Techniczno-Handlowe Roltex, Świerkot, Agrimasz and Agroas. The evidence shows that Claas Polska actively coordinated the cartel, monitored compliance, and acted as an enforcer of territorial and pricing discipline by facilitating information exchanges between dealers.
President of UOKiK, Tomasz Chróstny, stated that the conduct was particularly harmful due to the high level of brand loyalty in the agricultural sector, where long-term use, familiarity with equipment and concerns about switching make farmers especially vulnerable to anticompetitive practices. Internal emails obtained during inspections confirmed that dealers discouraged out-of-area sales and compensated one another when the agreed territorial boundaries were breached.
The authority imposed fines totalling more than €37 million (approximately PLN 170.38 million). Claas Polska was fined about €15.5 million, Agroas €10.6 million, Agro Sznajder WKP €3.4 million, Agrimasz €2.9 million, Świerkot €2.7 million and PTH Roltex €2.0 million. The decision is not yet final and may be appealed before the courts.
UOKiK also reminded affected farmers that they may seek damages before civil courts under Poland’s private enforcement framework, which enables victims of competition law infringements to claim compensation. In parallel, the authority reiterated the availability of its leniency programme, under which cartel participants and responsible managers may obtain reduced or waived fines in exchange for cooperation and evidence.
Further investigations into the sale of agricultural machinery remain ongoing as part of UOKiK’s broader efforts to protect farmers and restore effective competition in the sector.