Karragullen Cool Storage Pty Ltd - s.87B undertaking

The ACCC has accepted court enforceable undertakings from Karragullen Cool Storage Pty Ltd (Karragullen) for breaches of the Horticulture Code of Conduct (Code), a mandatory industry code under the Trade Practices Act 1974.

Karragullen:

• traded as a merchant without having Code compliant Horticultural Produce Agreements in place with the growers it has traded with;
• traded as a merchant without preparing, publishing or making publicly available a document setting out the general terms and conditions under which they would trade with growers of horticultural produce (terms of trade); and
• traded as a grower without having Code compliant Horticultural Produce Agreements in place with the merchants it has traded with.

Karragullen has acknowledged it has contravened the Code and section 51AD of the Act. The ACCC has accepted section 87B undertakings from Karragullen, that it:

• will not trade in produce subject to the Code without entering into Code compliant Horticulture Produce Agreements;
• will prepare, publish and make publicly available its terms of trade;
• will write to growers explaining its contraventions of the Code and this Undertaking;
• will conduct a trade practices seminar focusing on the Code and section 51AD of the Act for those authorised to sign Horticulture Produce Agreements on its behalf and for growers of horticultural produce that it trades with who wish to attend, and
• will publish an information notice in the Farm Weekly newspaper and in the WA Farm Weekly magazine distributed in Western Australia.