Union Dairy Company (UDC) has been fined $10,500 after allegedly failing to comply with obligations under the Dairy Code regarding publishing its exclusive supply agreements, the Australian Competiton & Consumer Commission has found.
Riddoch Trading Pty Ltd, which trades as UDC, and is a subsidiary of agricultural processing group Midfield Group, allegedly did not publish a non-exclusive supply agreement until two months after the 1 June deadline.
Under the Dairy Code, which came into effect on 1 January 2020, stakeholders must, on or before 2.00pm on 1 June each year, publish on its website:
- one or more standard forms of milk supply agreements
- for each standard form milk supply agreement, a statement setting out the circumstances in which the processor would enter into the agreement.
The ACCC alleges that instead of publishing its exclusive supply agreement on its website, UDC required dairy farmers to fill in an online form with data such as herd size and current processor before they could access the agreement.
ACCC deuty chair Mick Keogh said that processors must make their milk supply agreements publicly available, rather than putting them behind a portal or other barriers.
“In failing to properly publish its agreements by the time required by the Dairy Code, UDC may have made it more difficult for farmers to quickly access key information and identify the best supply agreement and milk processor for their circumstances,” said Keogh.
“We’re also concerned that UDC’s delay in publishing a non‑exclusive agreement may have sent the incorrect message to farmers that UDC is not obliged to offer such agreements, and that farmers may have missed out on the option to consider a UDC non-exclusive agreement.”
“We know that many farmers and processors are making time-critical milk supply decisions in June each year, so processors must make their documents publicly available by the due date.”
Keoggh said processors and famers must understand the requirements of the Dairy Code and comply with them, as it is legally binding and “breaches may result in the ACCC taking enforcement action”.
