Competition committee penalizes twelve companies for propane price fixing and market manipulation

The investigation revealed that between November–December 2025 and January 2026, these market participants systematically manipulated exchange trades. By unfairly increasing starting prices and limiting the volumes offered on the commodity exchange, the companies triggered a sharp rise in the cost of propane across the country. Following the committee's intervention and the implementation of operational measures, the market price of propane has since decreased by up to 21 percent.

During the monitoring process, the committee identified violations of competition law by 31 different entities. Among these, 12 specific companies were found to have engaged in collusive behavior and coordinated actions during exchange trading. The entities named include SHIRIN GAZ SERVIS LLC, NASAF TAMINOT GAZ PRESS LLC, FRIDAY – EXSTRA PE, MAROQAND – ENERGY GAZ OIL LLC, ASATILLO BOBO GAZ INVEST LLC, UNIT GROUP SIRDARYA LLC, GAZONE LLC, FARG‘ONA GAZ TO‘LDIRISH STANSIYASI LLC, OILCHEM LLC, SH – Z HANDSOME GROUP LLC, INTERNEFT LLC, and GTL GAZ LLC.

In addition to the collusion findings, the remaining companies were found to have violated legislation through the unreasonable hiking of starting prices and the sale of products via direct contracts in breach of established regulations.

As a result of these findings, the 31 entities have been officially recognized as violators of the Law on Competition. The committee has imposed financial penalties totaling UZS 28.9 billion. Furthermore, a decision has been made to recover UZS 34.1 billion in unjustly obtained profits, which will be returned to the state budget.

Beyond the financial sanctions, the committee has issued mandatory prescriptions to all involved parties. These orders require the immediate elimination of existing violations and strictly prohibit the recurrence of such anti-competitive practices in the future.