The National Farmers Federation (NFF) supports the recent announcement on the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, hoping it will provide the necessary force to address a system that is ‘failing’ consumers and farmers.
NFF David Jochinke welcomed the Australian Government’s appointment of a chair to proceed with the review.
“We need to get to the bottom of why there’s a growing gap between what farmers get paid and what produce is being sold for on supermarket shelves,” Jochinke said.
“It’s not just supermarkets we need answers from, we need to know who else in the supply chain is clipping the ticket and sending food prices skywards.”
The NFF urges chair Dr Craig Emerson to adopt ACCC‘s Perishable Agricultural Goods Inquiry recommendations, including mandatory Code implementation, retailer contract exemption, civil penalties, and independent dispute resolution.
Additionally, the farming body welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement that it will endorse the recommendations from the review of Part 5 of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct for more efficient dispute resolution.
Jochinke emphasised that despite the positive announcements, there is still a long way to go in resolving Australia’s competition issues.
“While reviews and inquiries are all well and good, we don’t want the Government to be distracted from pursuing immediate reform to competition laws more broadly — for instance looking at unfair trading practices or merger laws that have led to these competition issues in the first place,” Jochinke said.
According to him, the National Farmer Priorities Survey revealed that competition is the primary issue that keeps farmers up at night.
He noted that Australia’s food supply chain is dominated by large corporations, which are threatening small family farming businesses.
“As the cost of farming and the cost of living go through the roof, now is the time to correct this power imbalance and improve market price transparency so it’s not being used against farmers,” he added.
“Farmers need to understand how the price they are paid is determined, as should consumers,” he continued. “There are so many unknowns in farming, but pricing doesn’t have to be one of them.”
