The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is inviting people involved with cattle and beef markets to participate in a series of regional forums. The forums are a part of the ACCC’s recently announced market study into the cattle and beef industry.

“The purpose of these forums is to hear directly from farmers and other people in the cattle and beef industry about competition and fair trading issues that concern them,” ACCC Commissioner Mick Keogh said.

The forums will be held at:

• Wodonga, Victoria, on Tuesday 7 June 2016
  Toowoomba, Queensland, on Friday 10 June 2016
  Mount Gambier, South Australia, on Monday 20 June 2016
  Dubbo, New South Wales, on Friday 24 June 2016
  Bunbury, Western Australia, on Friday 1 July 2016.

The forums are an important part of the ACCC’s public consultation for the market study, which examines competition, efficiency, transparency and trading issues across the supply chain. Attendees will have the opportunity to raise their concerns directly with ACCC Commissioners.

“We are in the early stages of the market study, and consultation is ongoing.  We are interested in a range of issues. For example – competition between buyers of cattle, the strength of competition among bidders at saleyards, and the transparency of cattle pricing information,” Mr Keogh said.

“If you have any issues you wish to raise, but you are not able to attend a forum, I encourage you to call or email us and have a chat.”

During June and July, ACCC staff will also visit a number of regional areas where forums are not being held.

Contact details, and further information on the forums and the market study are available atwww.accc.gov.au/cattlestudy. The venues for the forums will also be provided at this link shortly.

Background

• The ACCC announced the cattle and beef market study on 5 April 2016 and released an Issues Paper on 7 April 2016.
• Key issues to be covered by the market study include:
• competition between buyers of cattle, and suppliers of processed meat to downstream customers
  the implications of saleyard attendees bidding on behalf of multiple buyers
  impediments to greater efficiency, such as bottlenecks or market power at certain points along the supply chain
  differences in bargaining strength, and the allocation of commercial risk between cattle producers and buyers
  the transparency of carcase pricing and grading methods
  seeking information on the share of profits among the cattle and beef production, processing and retailing sectors
  barriers to entry and expansion in cattle processing markets.

Source: ACCC