The prices of broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce have become the subject of a major Australian competition case.
Perfection Fresh has admitted engaging in cartel conduct involving vegetables supplied to ALDI in New South Wales. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announced the admission on October 26.
The company and the regulator will jointly ask the Federal Court to impose an A$12 million penalty. The court has not yet decided whether that amount is appropriate. ACCC
What Perfection Fresh admitted
The ACCC says the company admitted fixing prices on 11 occasions between 2019 and 2020.
The proposed penalty relates to nine contraventions and one attempted contravention, according to the regulator. The proposed orders also address the company’s competition-law compliance program. ACCC
Those figures describe different aspects of the regulator’s announcement. The ACCC explains that one admitted contravention falls outside the time period for a penalty to apply, accounting for the difference between the 11 occasions and the nine contraventions and one attempted contravention covered by the proposed penalty.
What remains before the court
The ACCC began civil proceedings in September 2025 against Perfection Fresh, three other suppliers and three individuals.
The proceedings against the other suppliers and individuals continue. Perfection Fresh’s admission does not establish liability against those respondents. Their allegations remain unresolved. ACCC
The court must also assess the jointly proposed penalty. An agreed recommendation is a significant procedural development, but it is not yet a court-imposed fine.
Why competition lawyers should care
Fresh vegetables provide a concrete example of why competition law reaches beyond large technology markets and high-profile mergers.
For counsel advising suppliers, the case draws attention to communications with competitors about prices, bids and commercial terms. For litigators, it also illustrates the need to report different stages of a competition proceeding accurately: an admission by one party, a proposed penalty and unresolved allegations against others can all exist at the same time.
Source: Australian Competition and Consumer Commission announcement
Related coverage: EU-UK Competition Agreement: What Coordinated Enforcement Could Mean for Businesses.