Suppliers call on ACCC to investigate retailers

Suppliers have called on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate whether retailers are complying with the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct,following a turbulent few weeks in which major brands were withheld from supermarket shelves.

In early April, some of Australia’s favourite pet food brands like Whiskas, Pedigree, My Dog and Dine as well as Uncle Toby’s cereals vanished from shelves around the country in what appeared to be an ongoing price war between supermarkets and suppliers.

The ACCC said in a statement that it “is aware of the issues and is assessing the matter”.

The ACCC’s code of conduct contains rules relating to grocery supply agreements, payments, termination of agreements, dispute resolution and a range of other matters. It is a voluntary code, under the Competition and Consumer Act, and therefore only applies to retailers or wholesalers that have elected to be bound by the Code, something that Woolworths, Coles, Aldi and About Life have done.

While the code requires both retailers and suppliers to act “in good faith”, there may be grounds for a retailer to delist a product that is withheld by a supplier or unobtainable for an extended period of time.

Industry sources told that this area is open to potential abuse as most suppliers do not have enough market data to argue their case.

The ACCC invites suppliers to report alleged breaches of the Act or Code and has also made submissions to a recent review of the Food and Grocery Code.

A spokesperson for Woolworths told that its team members are trained to comply with all the requirements of the code of conduct.

“We treat our obligations under the Food and Grocery Code very seriously and train our teams to comply with its requirements in all our dealings with suppliers,” a spokesperson for Woolworths said in a statement.

“If a supplier has concerns with any aspect of our conduct, there are a range of channels available, including anonymous reporting lines, for those to be raised and properly investigated.”

“While we will always endeavour to limit increases to the cost of groceries for Australian families, we have reached agreements with many suppliers to pay many millions more for the products they supply to us in recent times.”