The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) agriculture staff will be seeking farm sector feedback at this week’s Henty Machinery Field Days in southern NSW.
The ACCC wants farmers and others involved in the agriculture sector to make a point of “having a chat” at its field days stall inside the Local Land Services shed.
The consumer watchdog has issued an open invitation to “please come and speak to us if you have any questions, comments or concerns, or would just like to talk about competition in the agriculture sector during the three day event.
The invitation comes ahead of the ACCC launching an inquiry into dairy competition issues and while inquiries are continuing into the beef supply chain.
Its agriculture unit was established last year to examine competition and unfair trading issues in agricultural supply chains.
The aim is improve enforcement and compliance with the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 across the farm sector.
Three main objectives regarding agriculture include:
Identifying key agricultural supply chain issues across the agricultural sector for enforcement focus, investigation and prosecution.
Increasing awareness about codes of conduct, collective bargaining and the ACCC’s consultation processes.
Conducting specific market studies to enhance our understanding of the competitiveness of agricultural supply chains and how this impacts on farm gate outcomes in general.
Last year a Commissioner with specific expertise in agriculture, Mick Keogh, was also appointed to work with the Agriculture Unit and assist the ACCC’s activities involving agricultural supply chains.
Mr Keogh is also executive director of the Australian Farm Institute.
The ACCC’s agriculture unit is currently conducting a market study of the cattle and beef sector and has invited interested parties in making submissions.
Meanwhile, in the wake of widespread disillusionment about farmgate payment policies and market signals in the dairy industry, the Federal Government has indicated it will formally request the ACCC to conduct an inquiry into the dairy industry.
That investigation is likely to commence in November.
The commission is expected to analyse the broader dairy industry to identify structural and behavioural issues that affect the industry’s performance.
The inquiry will involve substantial stakeholder engagement in order to identify and understand the key issues in the industry.
The ACCC may also compel information from parties to assist its inquiry.
