Groceries

ACCC will not oppose Woolworths acquiring 65% share of PFD

The ACCC will not oppose Woolworths’ (ASX: WOW) acquisition of 65 per cent of the shares in wholesale food distributor PFD Food Services, following a detailed investigation that found the transaction is not likely to substantially lessen competition.

“We conducted extensive market inquiries across the industry, and undertook detailed analysis of supplier and competitor data, and internal documents of key interested parties. Ultimately the evidence before us did not indicate the transaction would be likely to substantially lessen competition,” ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.

Food and Grocery Code

Find out if the Food and Grocery Code applies to you, and about requirements for grocery supply agreements. We also provide a glossary of key terms to help you navigate the Code, information about how the ACCC enforces the Code and how to make a report to the ACCC.

Meredith Dairy proposal to set minimum prices rejected

The ACCC has issued a final notice revoking a resale price maintenance (RPM) notification lodged by Meredith Dairy, which would have prevented retailers selling its goat cheese products below a price set by Meredith Dairy.

Meredith Dairy had raised concerns that smaller retailers promoting its products at low prices to compete with major supermarket chains had led to demands from other retailers for lower wholesale prices.

Country of origin food labelling surveillance to commence

After 1 July, Australian consumers will have much greater certainty about the origins of the food they buy, due to the introduction of mandatory Country of Origin food labelling. The ACCC will conduct market surveillance checks on 10,000 food products to ensure businesses are correctly displaying the new labels.

All businesses–including manufacturers, processors and importers that offer food for retail sale in Australia–will need to comply with the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard, which specifies how claims can be made about the origin of food products.