The issues paper identifies six key areas to be addressed through the inquiry including the level of competition between processors for the acquisition of milk.
The Coalition Government has welcomed the next step in creating a fairer and more transparent environment for Australia’s dairy industry, with the release of the ACCC’s Inquiry into the Australian Dairy Industry Issues Paper.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources, Barnaby Joyce, said the issues paper outlines the scope of the inquiry and details the ACCC’s current understanding of the broader issues faced by the dairy industry.
“In August this year, following a national Dairy Symposium of key dairy industry stakeholders held in Melbourne, I announced the independent ACCC inquiry into the competitiveness of prices, trading practices and supply chain in the Australian dairy industry,” Minister Joyce said.
“While the announcement came off the back of significant retrospective price cuts to farmers by dairy processors Murray Goulburn and Fonterra, the issues paper makes it clear the inquiry will be bigger than the price cuts to dairy farmers and will examine how the entire industry operates.
“The inquiry will take a national focus, looking into the unique challenges facing the industry not only in South Eastern Australia, but also in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.”
The issues paper identifies six key areas to be addressed through the inquiry including:
- the level of competition between processors for the acquisition of milk;
- concerns about unfair contract terms;
- transparency, price signals and how farmgate milk prices are set and communicated to producers;
- domestic retail markets, including the impact of $1 per litre private label milk by major supermarkets;
- options for and barriers to selling into export markets; and
- key factors influencing the profitability of dairy farms.
Minister Joyce said the inquiry will be bolstered by the Coalition Government’s recently established Agriculture Unit within the ACCC, which will be dedicated to inquiry.
