VICTORIAN cattle producers have welcomed recommendations to crack down on anti-competitive behaviour in the livestock supply chain.
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Victorian Farmers Federation (VFF) livestock president Leonard Vallance said the VFF broadly supported the 15 recommendations handed down last week by the competition watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
“The ACCC has made it very clear the industry is on notice and now it’s up to us to work with the federal and state governments to make sure these recommendations are followed,” Mr Vallance said.
Mr Vallance said the VFF was disappointed there were no recommendations regarding pre and post-sale weighing at saleyards, when those issues had been significant issues in the lead up to the inquiry.
“Pre-sale vs post-sale weighing was the catalyst for the whole investigation, but it has been diluted by a myriad of supply chain issues,” he said.
“We have always said the industry needs to adopt pre-sale weighing of cattle to increase competition and transparency in transactions, and it’s frustrating the ACCC hasn’t given us a resolution on this matter,” Mr Vallance said.
The VFF applauded the report’s call for priority to be given to the implementation of objective carcass measurement technology in abattoirs.
“Objective carcass measurement will help increase trust between processors and producers and achieve farm production benefits with precise carcass feedback,” Mr Vallance said.
He said the VFF would work with Meat and Livestock Australia at forums across Victoria to inform producers about the benefits of objective carcass measurement technology.