The ACCC has issued a determination granting authorisation, until 31 December 2020, to enable Ingham’s, Turosi, Hazeldene’s Chicken Farm and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation (the representative body for the chicken meat industry) to engage in limited coordination through a ‘COVID Working Group’ to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated Victorian restrictions on the chicken meat industry.
The ACCC granted interim authorisation for exactly the same conduct on 7 August 2020, and to date it has not been necessary for them to make use of the authorisation.
To ensure there is sufficient transparency over the processors’ coordination (should the need for coordination arise), the processors must provide the ACCC with weekly reports setting out decisions made by the COVID Working Group, and provide any further information that the ACCC requests.
Further information about the ACCC’s draft determination is available on the ACCC public register at: Ingham's Group Ltd, other chicken processors and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation.