The competition watchdog has alleged Australia’s largest egg supplier of engaging in cartel conduct with a raft of other producers, accusing them of manipulating the market for at least six years and potentially driving up prices that consumers pay.
On Tuesday, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched legal action in the federal court against Sunny Queen - the country’s largest producer - as well as 11 other suppliers including Doug Hall Poultry, McLeans Farms, Ellerslie Free Range Farms and Kinross Farm alleging they breached competition laws by coordinating on production and supply of eggs.
The ACCC has alleged that since at least October 2020 key egg suppliers and producers coordinated on a range of business decisions including production volumes, distribution, expansion plans and culling to manage perceived oversupply, in a way that likely substantially reduced competition for many years.
“Our investigation has uncovered alleged widespread anti-competitive conduct in the egg industry that we allege has impacted the supply of eggs to Australian consumers since at least 2020. This alleged conduct is extremely serious, which is why we have commenced this Federal Court action,” ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
