A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other and avoid competing with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. They seek to limit competition, fix prices, and increase prices by creating artificial shortages through low production quotas, stockpiling, and marketing quotas. Jurisdictions frequently consider cartelization to be anti-competitive behavior, leading them to outlaw or curtail cartel practices. Anti-trust law targets cartel behavior in markets.