Welcome a code review 

The release of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) review of the Horticulture Code of Conduct has been met with a relatively calm response from the horticulture industry.

While somewhat overshadowed by the ACCC's recommendations relating to the retail grocery industry, there were 13 key recommendations relating specifically to the Horticulture Code.

These recommendations cover a range of areas which, if adopted, would make the Code more workable.

Significantly however, this could come at a price for those growers who executed supply agreements prior to the announcement of the Code's introduction on 12 December 2006, with the report also recommending the removal of these arrangements.

The ACCC also recommended that the Code be extended to cover retail chains, exporters and processors, and that monetary penalties be introduced where breaches of the code occur.

It is now understood that the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Tony Burke, will refer the ACCC recommendations to the Horticulture Code Committee for review prior to contemplating any amendments to the Code.

Any moves to amend the Code to make it more workable, are welcomed.

There is still however, a process to be worked through and as always, the devil is in the detail. This said, the review represents a first step in working towards having a Code which is able to be endorsed and supported by the broader industry and which can be cost effective and workable in its application.

To achieve such an outcome as a result of industry cooperation would represent an important demonstration of how a shared vision could be used to promote the adoption of better commercial relationships across the industry.