The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its intention to oppose Cargill Australia’s proposed acquisition of Goodman Fielder’s edible fats and oils business.
“The ACCC investigation found that the proposed acquisition of the Goodman Fielder assets by Cargill would lead to a significant concentration of refining assets in Australia and remove one of only a small number of competing refiners that offer a wide range of fats and oils products,” Graeme Samuel, ACCC chairman, said.
“The ACCC also concluded that any potential competitors face significant difficulties in viably obtaining certain inputs necessary to supply a number of edible fats and oils products, limiting their ability to provide an effective competitive constraint post-acquisition.”
Samuel also said the proposed acquisition would likely result in a substantial lessening of competition in markets for the supply of certain refined oil products, in particular those products used by industrial food manufacturers.