ACCC alleges major Australian egg producers engaged in cartel and other anti-competitive conduct

Australia’s biggest egg supplier Sunny Queen and 11 other egg producers and suppliers are alleged to have breached competition laws by coordinating on production and supply of eggs in Australia, in civil proceedings filed in the Federal Court by the ACCC today.

It is alleged that since at least October 2020 key egg suppliers and producers coordinated on a range of business decisions including production volumes, distribution, expansion plans and culling to manage perceived oversupply, in a way that likely substantially reduced competition for many years.

The case includes concerted practice allegations. This is the first case brought by the ACCC to include concerted practice allegations since the prohibition was introduced in 2017. A concerted practice involves cooperation between businesses that goes beyond them acting independently in response to market conditions.

The proceedings involve allegations against entities including Sunny Queen Pty Ltd (Sunny Queen), Doug Hall Poultry Pty Ltd (Hall), Alpair Pty Ltd trading as McLean Farms (McLean Farms), Ellerslie Free Range Farms Pty Ltd (Ellerslie) and Kinross Farm Pty Ltd (Kinross).

Each of these entities is alleged to have engaged in cartel conduct and are also alleged to have engaged in a concerted practice with the purpose, effect or likely effect of substantially reducing competition. A full list of company names for the 12 entities the subject of the proceedings is available in the ACCC’s concise statement.

“Our investigation has uncovered alleged widespread anti-competitive conduct in the egg industry that we allege has impacted the supply of eggs to Australian consumers since at least 2020. This alleged conduct is extremely serious, which is why we have commenced this Federal Court action,” ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.