Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Australian Egg Corporation and other egg producers cleared of cartel charges, (Feb 10, 2016)

By Michael Menzhuber, J.D., LL.M.

The Federal Court of Australia has cleared the following defendants of charges by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) that they attempted to induce egg producers to engage in a cartel arrangement: Australian Egg Corporation Limited (AECL); AECL’s managing director, James Kellaway; Farm Pride Foods Ltd (Farm Pride); Ironside Management Services (Twelve Oaks Poultry); and a Twelve Oaks Poultry director, Jeffrey Ironsides.

The proceedings concerned allegations by the ACCC that AECL, Farm Pride, and Twelve Oaks Poultry attempted to induce AECL egg members to cull hens or otherwise dispose of eggs, thereby reducing the number of eggs for commercial supply in Australia. At that time, AECL, an industry corporation that collects levies from member egg producers for promotional activities and research and development activities, had between 100 and 150 egg producer members.

The court found that, while the Commission had established that AECL, Farm Pride, and Twelve Oaks Poultry intended that egg producers should take action to correct an oversupply of eggs, the Commission did not establish that the action was intended to be pursuant to an agreement or understanding involving reciprocal obligations by competing producers.

News: Antitrust