IGA supplier Metcash has been targeted in a draft review released Tuesday of the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct.
The code, carried out by Graeme Samuel, former chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commision in 2015, lists complaints about how supermarkets and wholesalers deal with suppliers.
The country’s three largest supermarkets, Woolworths, Coles and Aldi, have all signed but Metcash has resisted.
The recently released draft has mentioned Metcash and other industry players that refused to join the voluntary code.
The key recommendations include:
- Calling for all significant wholesalers and retailers to be bound by the Grocery Code, including Metcash Ltd (the only national wholesaler), to create further cultural change;
- Strengthening and elevating the good faith provision to allow for a greater application of fairness to be considered; and
- Enhancing the role of the code compliance manager (a key feature of dispute resolution under the Grocery Code) to become an independent adjudicator to address suppliers’ fear of retribution for making a complaint against a signatory.
The report is a comprehensive overview of the Grocery Code that has been informed by the Review’s initial public consultations. The draft report makes a total of 14 recommendations to ensure the Grocery Code continues working effectively for the food and grocery industry.
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