Coles and Woolworths Face Scrutiny in ACCC Hearings Over Supermarket Practices

ROBERT HEYWARD

Coles and Woolworths are under the spotlight as they provide evidence at this week’s ACCC hearings, part of an ongoing inquiry into supermarket practices.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) Horticulture Council is urging the ACCC to delve deeply into the supermarkets’ buying processes, which it claims exploit growers due to the perishable nature of their products.

“Horticulture underpins Australia’s national food security, supplying 98% of the country’s fresh fruit and vegetables,” said Jolyon Burnett, Chair of the NFF Horticulture Council. “Yet growers are at the mercy of Woolworths and Coles due to their dominant market position—one of the most signifcant retail duopolies in the developed world—and the time-sensitive nature of their produce.”

Burnett highlighted the limited bargaining power of growers, who are often forced to accept unfavourable terms to avoid their produce becoming unsellable.

The ACCC has described these situations as involving “take-it-orleave-it” terms and exploitative practices.

Adding to the challenge is the lack of long-term contracts with major supermarkets. Instead, growers face weekly purchasing arrangements that pit them against one another. “This practice has gone on for decades, leaving growers with stagnant prices for 15 years while supermarket profts soar,” Burnett noted.

Analysis reveals the disparity: a major supermarket has delivered a 13% annual return to shareholders over 25 years, far outpacing the 7.3% return of superannuation funds.

“For growers, such returns are unthinkable,” Burnett stated. “Instead of sharing in the supermarkets’ billiondollar profts, farmers’ productivity gains have been absorbed, resulting