|
Following dawn visit to Adelaide Produce Market, a call to revamp Trade Practices laws to protect small and medium businesses: |
|
FOOD WHOLESALERS WAITING, WAITING, WAITING FOR A FAIR DEAL |
|
Following a dawn visit to the Adelaide Produce Market at Pooraka this morning, Independent Senate candidate Nick Xenophon has called for a revamp of Trade Practices laws to protect small and medium businesses from unfair practices from large corporations.
Mr Xenophon met with a number of fruit and vegetable wholesalers and discussed concerns of the concentration of market share in the grocery sector by the 2 main players Coles and Woolworths who between them have close to 80% of the ‘dry grocery’ market share.
Mr Xenophon has called for a review and urgent strengthening of section 51AC of the Trade Practices Act, which deals with ‘unconscionable conduct’, to make it easier and less costly for small and medium businesses to take on large corporations in cases of unfair practices.
Currently there is a ‘Produce and Grocery Industry Code of Conduct’ which is non-enforceable. The Code has been described by Barry Urquhart, a national expert on the retail industry, as “a toothless tiger. It’s full of good intent but not able to be implemented.”
Mr Xenophon said:
“The feedback I’ve had from this very important industry is that the rules need to be clearer and easily enforceable so that parties can be protected from unfair practices that can all too easily come about when there is a significant degree of market concentration.”
“I’m not accusing the 2 major players of breaching current laws, but I believe the law needs to be changed at a Federal level to give small businesses a fair and equitable playing field in which to conduct their business. And when that happens, it can only be good for consumers.”
|
|