Australian food manufacturer George Weston Foods has been handed a fine of A$1.5m (US$1.06m).
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The fine relates to an admission on the part of the company that a former director had tried to fix prices. Following an investigation into an allegation that, in late 1999, Paul Benedict Loneragan, a then director of George Weston Foods and chief executive of its flour milling division, had telephoned a competitor seeking to fix the wholesale price of flour, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) began legal action against George Weston Foods and Loneragan.
The ACCC alleged that, had agreement been reached, it would have amounted to a price fixing arrangement under the Trade Practices Act 1974 and, accordingly, both George Weston Foods and Loneragan had attempted to breach the Act. As things were, the competitor did not respond to Loneragan’s approach.
When imposing the penalty of $1.5m against George Weston, Justice Gyles noted the company had previously engaged in price fixing or attempted price fixing conduct in 1976, 1995 and 1997.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said the penalty clearly demonstrated the seriousness with which the court viewed attempts by companies to stifle competition by trying to enter into price-fixing arrangements. He added that such agreements on price can be very damaging to both consumers and business.
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By GlobalDataGeorge Weston Foods is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Associated British Foods.
