The Egyptian Competition Authority (ECA) referred 24 fertiliser distribution companies to public prosecution for manipulating prices and violating the Competition Law.

The ECA said on Monday in a press release that the authority rejected the reconciliation requests from these companies—contrary to the previously followed policy.

The ECA refused to reconcile with them for a few reasons. This includes the influence of the compost price on the prices of food products, and the rejection of some companies to cooperate with the ECA, as well as their delay in sending the required data during the investigation, according to the statement.

In August, the ECA said that it had proven four breaches of the Competition Law against major super phosphate fertiliser production and distribution companies.

The ECA said in a statement Monday that it proved the violations attributed to these companies, as they had agreed privately to maintain a specified price for selling super phosphate fertiliser to consumers—which is a violation of the protection law.

The ECA added that these companies have agreed to a specific price difference between products, which limits competition in the distribution market.

Violations included some companies dividing the market among themselves, which breaches Article 6, Paragraph (b) of the Competition Law, according to the ECA’s statement.