Fed: Stamp out unfair practices in fertiliser industry: report

AAP General News (Australia)
08-20-2009
Fed: Stamp out unfair practices in fertiliser industry: report

CANBERRA, Aug 20 AAP - A Senate inquiry into fertiliser prices has recommended the
commonwealth review trade practices laws to stop anti-competitive practices in the industry.

The Senate established the select committee on agricultural and related industries
in February to inquire into the impacts for Australian farmers on the pricing and supply
arrangements of chemical and fertiliser markets.

Since then 62 submissions have been received.

The committee, chaired by Liberal senator Bill Heffernan, handed down six recommendations
including calling on the states and territories to adopt uniform labelling requirements
across all jurisdictions.

The states and territories should consider regular sample testing for specified ingredients
including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in fertiliser products.

The Trade Practices Act should also be strengthened "to more effectively regulate anti-competitive
practices and prevent abuse of market power".

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural Resource Economics should also collect and publish
information relating to international price inputs on a regular basis and ensure all farmers
have access to details on pricing.

In a bid to improve transparency, suppliers would also be required to publish information
on the arrival of shipments and the amount of fertiliser in stock.

Greater certainty for the completion of orders including those placed early in the
season should also be considered.

"The committee recommends that, wherever possible, supply agreements between suppliers
and customers be more structured and equitable and, where appropriate, include standard
contractual terms and conditions," the report said.

Government senators Kerry O'Brien and Glenn Sterle, also on the committee, said they
didn't disagree with the report but were not prepared to give their approval to every
aspect of it.

"Some of it was probably a blunter way of expressing our views than we might have embraced,"

Senator O'Brien told AAP.

"(Liberal senator) Bill (Heffernan), the chairman, can sometimes be very, very colourful
and blunt in the way he puts things and we thought the important thing was rather than
nit-pick about the words in the report (focus on) which aspects we could agree with."

AAP srj/sb/dep

KEYWORD: FERTILISER

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