The Competition Commission of Pakistan has acted against the body that controls oil transport out of Karachi’s ports: the CCP fines edible oil tanker association Rs60 million for fixing freight rates and dividing business among its members.
The penalty falls on the All Pakistan Edible Oil Tanker Owners Association and is made up of two Rs30 million fines, one for price fixing and one for market allocation, both under Section 4 of the Competition Act, 2010. The order is listed on the CCP website under 11 September 2026 and was reported around 19 September. It was decided by Chairman Farid Ahmad Tarar and Member Bushra Naz Malik, and it closes a show-cause notice issued in December 2025.
How the Freight Rates Were Fixed
The association set the cost of carrying edible oil, ghee and fats from Karachi Port Trust and Port Qasim to cities across the country. Between 2019 and 2025 it revised those rates 89 times, raising them 52 times and cutting them 37 times. The formula was uneven: every Rs1 rise in diesel pushed rates up by 0.75%, but a Rs1 fall brought them down by only 0.5%.
Each revision was followed by matching circulars from the Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association, which the CCP treated as evidence of coordination. The association argued that its circulars were only advisory. The commission rejected that defence, noting that even non-binding recommendations from a trade body can restrict competition.
A Queue That Shut Out Competition
Alongside the rates, the association ran a queue and ticket system for lifting consignments. Tanker owners received slips and took turns, instead of competing for the work. A September 2023 circular backed this with a Rs500,000 penalty for any tanker and owner who broke the rules. The CCP put the association’s share of the market at about 83%, with 250 to 300 tankers calling at the ports each day compared with 50 to 60 run by the National Logistics Corporation.
CCP Fines Edible Oil Tanker Association: What Happens Next
The association must stop the practices immediately, withdraw its rate circulars, end the queue system and publish notices in two Urdu and two English national newspapers telling tanker owners they are free to set their own rates and lift cargo whether or not they belong to the body. The fine and a compliance report are due within 60 days. After that, Rs50,000 a day is added for non-compliance, and the CCP can pursue further legal proceedings.
Edible oil, ghee and fats are household staples, and freight is part of what it costs to move them from port to market. Reports on the case do not put a figure on any effect on shelf prices, so the real test will be whether rates become more flexible once owners can price independently. The case also shows the CCP’s enforcement pattern in recent weeks: it fined 3M Pakistan Rs10 million over a misleading comparison ad in September, and earlier this year it penalised cable makers for price fixing.
