MOSCOW, April 19 - RAPSI. The Moscow Commercial Court has scheduled May 24 for a preliminary hearing in the Metro Cash & Carry's claim to invalidate the antitrust watchdog's ruling which states that the wholesaler discriminates against suppliers of fish and fish derivatives.

In November the Federal Antimonopoly Service declared Metro Cash & Carry in breach of trade laws for tying the cost of promotion to the product turnover.

The watchdog claims that this creates discriminatory conditions and goes against the law on trading regulation.

The regulator's Deputy Director Andrei Kashevarov said that this case is the first of its kind and the decision may set a precedent. He added that they have seen a number of chain stores also setting costs for services such as marketing according to the volume of good supplied.

Metro Cash & Carry is a trading division of the German METRO Group, a leading global cash and carry chain. It has 57 stores in Russia.