In the Competition Board meeting of 8.5.2014, numbered 14-17, a decision was taken to initiate a sector inquiry into rthe cement sector. The grounds for this decision are summarized below.

As known, as a result of the high growth rate displayed in the recent years, Turkish economy has become one of the largest twenty economies in the world. Due to its relative importance in economy and its connections with the other sectors, construction sector makes a significant contribution to the aforementioned rate of growth.

Cement is one of the fundamental inputs of the construction sector. Various applications entered into the Competition Authority records in the past as well as examinations conducted by the Competition Board showed that there were serious competitive problems in the cement market, which prevented the development of the construction sector in the country.

Despite on-the-spot inspections conducted at the premises of cement producing undertakings and the administrative fines imposed the number of complaints concerning this sector has failed to see a reduction; on the contrary, such the number of such complaints has increased in the recent period. The complaints mostly emphasize the significant price hikes observed following the year 2013. In addition, the claims included allegations of region and customer allocation, refusal of supply, and practices which may be characterized as predatory pricing.

The product and market structure of the cement sector facilitates the implementation of anti-competitive agreements and collusive behavior. Hence, it is possible to claim that the complaints are stemming from behaviors that lead to infringements of competition (for instance, the setting of market prices out of the market) or from factors connected to the structure and operation of the sector.

Within this framework, Competition Authority has deemed it appropriate to conduct an extensive sector inquiry, in order to identify the sources of the competitive problems in the cement sector and to introduce structural or behavioral solution proposals for these problems.

During the sector inquiry process, which will be conducted within the scope of competition advocacy, all shareholders in the sector may submit all kinds of opinions and suggestions to the Competition Authority via the contact information listed on our official website or via the e-mail addresses provided below. Since opinions and suggestions submitted to the Authority may be published on the Authority website, any request for anonymity must be explicitly specified.

Contact:

Alper KARAKURT : akarakurt@rekabet.gov.tr
Şerife Demet KORKUT : sdkaya@rekabet.gov.tr
Mücteba ALTUN : muctebaaltun@rekabet.gov.tr
Yalçıner YALÇIN : yyalcin@rekabet.gov.tr
Serap TOPALÖMER : serapi@rekabet.gov.tr
Mehmet TOKGÖZ : mtokgoz@rekabet.gov.tr
Atıf BİBER : abiber@rekabet.gov.tr