Australian regulator sues 12 egg producers — ABC News Australia

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has filed a civil lawsuit in the Federal Court against 12 egg producers and suppliers. The regulator alleges that the companies, including Sunny Queen, the largest wholesale egg supplier, have coordinated decisions on the production and supply of products since at least October 2020, ABC News Australia reports.

Regulator's allegations

According to the ACCC, the parties to the case coordinated production volumes, distribution, expansion plans and culling in response to a potential oversupply of eggs on the market. In the regulator's view, such conduct may have substantially weakened competition over many years.

The lawsuit also concerns the acquisition of a property in Pittsworth, Queensland. The ACCC believes that Sunny Queen, Doug Hall Poultry and McLean Farms coordinated the purchase of the site to prevent it from being acquired by a competing egg supplier.

The regulator also alleges that Sunny Queen restricted the volumes of eggs that its competitor Kinross Farm could sell to customers and prevented it from supplying the Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash and Costco chains.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Sunny Queen's position

Sunny Queen accounts for approximately one-third of the Australian market for supplying eggs to retail chains. The company has warehousing and distribution facilities in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

A Sunny Queen representative denied all allegations and said the company had fully cooperated with the ACCC during the investigation. Sunny Queen said it intends to defend itself in court and that business operations will continue as usual. According to the company, the claims are related to the terms of agreements with its shareholders and main egg suppliers in Queensland and Victoria.

This is the ACCC's first case concerning alleged concerted practices since the prohibition on them was introduced in 2017. Such practices involve cooperation between competitors that goes beyond companies independently responding to market conditions.