A damning report on supermarket behaviour from the consumer watchdog has vindicated The Nationals’ ongoing calls for immediate action to stop alleged price gouging of farmers and families.
The ACCC’s 266-page Interim Report from its Supermarket Price Inquiry accuses Woolworths and Coles of operating within an “oligopoly” through their combined 67 per cent share of the market; something ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said, “can limit incentives to compete vigorously on price.”
The report notes suppliers have “repeatedly raised strong concerns” about the alleged practices of the supermarkets. It says the strongest concerns have come from fruit and vegetable suppliers, who needs to participate in weekly tenders to supply their products to Woolworths and Coles.
The ACCC said it heard a range of concerns about access to suitable sites, including suggestions of “land banking” and the acquiring of competitor’s sites to create or increase barriers to entry or expansion.
Nationals Leader David Littleproud said Anthony Albanese had been distracted and focusing on the wrong priorities while the country’s major supermarkets had been allowed to run riot, impacting farmers at the farm gate and families at the checkout.
“In 2022, The Nationals called for the Albanese Government to urgently bring forward a Food and Grocery Code review. In 2023 we called for the ACCC to be directed to start an urgent price inquiry before Christmas,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Labor repeatedly ignored our warnings for more than 12 months before finally announcing powers for an ACCC inquiry in late January this year.
“This interim report vindicates our calls for greater penalties on Australia’s supermarket sector, but it’s a pity this Labor Government dragged its heels to reach this point.”
Introducing divestiture powers, $2m infringement notices and a Supermarket Commissioner is what’s needed to change the supermarkets’ culture yet the Prime Minister won’t support these despite voting for divestiture powers in the energy sector in 2019.
The release of the interim report comes just days after the ACCC announced it had commenced separate legal proceedings against both Coles and Woolworths for allegedly breaching Australian Consumer Law by misleading consumers through discount pricing claims on hundreds of common supermarket products.
The ACCC alleges the supermarkets offered certain products at a regular price for at least 180 days. It claims they then increased the price by at least 15 per cent for a relatively short period of time, and subsequently placed it onto their ‘Prices Dropped’ or ‘Down Down’ program.
The ACCC alleges Woolworths made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 266 products between September 2021 and May 2023.
It alleges Coles made false or misleading representations to consumers about the prices of 245 products between February 2022 and May 2023.
“There are families that won’t have dinner tonight, yet the Albanese Government is so out of touch, they’ve failed to realise the urgency of addressing competition in the supermarket sector,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Australian farmers and Australian families simply want fairness at the farmgate and the supermarket checkout.”
NSW Farmers Principal Economist Samuel Miller said the findings had come as no surprise, with farmers and families having long suffered at the hands of the supermarket duopoly.
“Prices are rock bottom at the farm gate, and sky high at the checkout – it’s clear these supermarket superpowers are pushing up profits and leaving farmers and families to foot the bill,” Mr Miller said.
“For years, farmers and families have suffered as our supermarket profits have soared, and there has been a total lack of accountability or penalties for any unconscionable behaviour impacting the supply chain to date.
“Farmers have been unable to speak out for fear of retribution, and families have been left with no choice but to hand over their hard-earned money to this monopoly – and that must stop.”
Read the ACCC report here: Supermarkets inquiry August 2024 interim report | ACCC
