Last week, QDO formally lodged its application for authorisation with the ACCC. The writing of the application was an exhaustive and expensive process for a not-for-profit like QDO. The ACCC will be reviewing the Fair Go Dairy logo to ensure that it will not breach any of the competition provisions in the act. These competition provisions include agreements between competitors, cartel conduct, mergers, misuse of market power and concerted practices.
The Fair Go Dairy logo will assist consumers to identify which brands are paying farmers a SFFP and providing them with the ability to choose the brands that support Australian dairy farmers by paying them a SFFP.
A logo that promotes a SFFP on an agricultural end-product is breaking new ground in Australia. We believe that the Fair Go Dairy logo scheme will be a significant win for all dairy farmers once it gains traction.
We would encourage any party who feels that this scheme could have a powerful benefit to consumers and to our farmers to submit feedback to the ACCC. This includes general members of the public, consumer groups, political parties in both state and federal parliaments and other agricultural advocacy organisations.
We hope to launch the scheme for operation in early 2021.
The ACCC is inviting any interested parties to make a submission on the likely public benefits and effect on competition, or any other public detriment, from the Fair Go Dairy licensing scheme.
In particular, the ACCC seek views on the following issues:
- any likely benefits to the public resulting from the arrangements
- whether the Fair Go Dairy logo will assist consumers to identify which dairy products are made using milk on
- which farmers are paid a SFFP
- any impact of the scheme on dairy retail prices in Queensland
- the method for how QDO proposes the SFFP will be calculated
- any harm or improvements to competition which may result from the arrangements, this may include
- competition at the farmgate, wholesale or retail levels of the supply chain
- any other impact of the scheme on the farmgate prices for milk in Queensland
- whether and how many processors are likely to participate in the scheme, and the reasons for this, and
- the 10-year term of authorisation sought
If you intend to provide a submission in relation to QDO’s application for authorisation, including the request for interim authorisation, please do so by October 23, 2020.
Submissions should be emailed to adjudication@accc.gov.au with the subject AA1000530 – QDO – submission. Submissions will be placed on the ACCC’s public register subject to any request for exclusion.
