{"id":218679,"date":"2018-09-19T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2018-09-19T09:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=218679"},"modified":"2020-09-23T15:57:54","modified_gmt":"2020-09-23T05:57:54","slug":"accc-warning-to-milk-processors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2018\/09\/19\/accc-warning-to-milk-processors\/","title":{"rendered":"ACCC Warning To Milk Processors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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ACCC Chairman Rod Sims (Photo: ACCC)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 19, 2018<\/strong><\/p>\n

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has warned dairy processors against misleading farmers about milk prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cDairy processors need to be honest with farmers. We have written to a number of processors warning them not to mislead farmers by blaming private label milk contracts for the prices offered for milk at the farmgate,\u201d ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concerned this is misleading as the power lies with processors to raise the farmgate price paid to farmers, and then pass these higher farmgate prices on to supermarkets.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost all contracts between processors and supermarkets for the supply of private label milk allow processors to pass-through movements in farmgate prices to supermarkets.<\/p>\n

“This means processors set their farmgate prices independent of the supermarkets\u2019 retail prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ACCC has heard reports from a number of dairy farmers in NSW and Queensland who are struggling to cover costs in the face of drought.<\/p>\n

These reports allege that processors say they cannot pay farmers more for their milk because of the low $1 per litre price for private label milk.<\/p>\n

“Given the existence of these pass-through clauses, this is not correct,” the ACCC says.<\/p>\n