Australia's small-scale farmers are 'meat in a market concentration sandwich'

  • 📰 abcnews
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 68 sec. here
  • 10 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 54%
  • Publisher: 83%

Farming News

Market Concentration,Australian Competition And Consumer Commission,Australian Bureau Of Agricultural And Resource Ec

Many Australian farmers are getting squeezed at 'both ends' by concentrated markets.

'Higher prices for inputs. Less choice for repairs. Power imbalances in negotiating contracts.' Farmers face challenges in every direction.We hear a lot about consumers getting screwed by Australia's supermarket duopoly, but how do you think farmers feel?

"And the market share for garden supplies retailing is about 33 per cent for the largest four firms.""According to IBIS World industry reports, there is concentration in fruit and vegetable processing, with the largest four companies holding about 34 per cent of the market. Leigh says the data shows our agricultural supply chain is highly concentrated at the national level.

"In short, farmers have few choices when buying machinery but even less choice when servicing or repairing that equipment." In December last year, the National Farmers' Federation released an issues paper criticising the lack of transparency and competition across agricultural supply chains. "That study found evidence that conflicts of interest regularly arise in saleyard transactions when buyers bid for livestock on behalf of multiple clients, and when agents represent both a cattle seller and a cattle buyer in the same transaction," Leigh says.

"An ongoing concern is the impact on producers of market concentration and buyer power during tough times, such as droughts," he says.Leigh says unfair contract terms are another problem farmers have to deal with. He says the court declared contract terms that allowed Mitolo to unilaterally determine or vary the price paid to growers as void.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 5. in BUSÄ°NESS

Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Australian Women in Music Awards shine a light on women in the Australian music industryWith an aim to advance equality in the music industry, winners at this year's Australian Women in Music Awards have been celebrated in Brisbane.
Source: abcnews - 🏆 5. / 83 Read more »