Fruit grower and trader Nutrano – also known as Seven Fields Operations – has paid penalties amounting to $24,850 due to alleged breaches of the Horticulture Code.
The fine came after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued two infringement notices against the company.
Nutrano grows various fruits, including citrus, mangoes, and blueberries. The company primarily operates in Victoria and runs farms in Queensland, the NT and NSW and runs extensive packing houses, providing services to growers, such as grading, ripening, and cool storage.
Nutrano also maintains a presence in central markets in Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.
The ACCC accused Nutrano of failing to provide transparent information about sales prices to growers in their statements, as required by the code.
“It is a fundamental obligation under the Horticulture Code that agents must be transparent about sales prices they receive so that growers know the market value of their produce,” said Mick Keogh, deputy chair of ACCC.
The Horticulture Code is a mandatory industry code under the Competition and Consumer Act to improve clarity and transparency in the horticulture trade between growers and traders.
Key requirements of the code include:
- The sale of horticulture produce under compliant Horticulture Produce Agreements (HPAs).
- Provide growers with statements for selling their produce.
- The publication of terms of trade by traders.
The ACCC raised concerns that Nutrano’s HPAs did not adequately specify quality requirements and contained clauses the commission considered potentially unfair, including clauses granting Nutrano absolute discretion to change the produce specifications.
“Growers are less likely to know the grade Nutrano might assign to their produce and its value if there are inadequate quality specifications,” explained Keogh.
“It is encouraging that Nutrano has cooperated with the ACCC’s investigation and has committed to rectifying the issues relating to product specifications.”
The ACCC has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking in which Nutrano committed to provide growers with updated statements for the 2022 season, stating the price Nutrano received for the grower’s produce.
As part of the agreement, Nutrano has also agreed to implement a compliance program and review its Horticulture Produce Agreements to comply with the Horticulture Code. It has also committed to removing the terms the commission considered unfair.
“We will continue to monitor agents’ compliance with their obligations under the Horticulture Code and will look to take further enforcement action if we identify other breaches,” Keogh concluded.
