A federal parliamentary inquiry into the marketing of Australian sugar has made only one recommendation.
The single recommendation reads “the committee recommends the development and implementation of a mandatory sugar industry Code of Conduct, acknowledging that, provided appropriate stakeholder consultation is undertaken, the work of the Sugar Marketing Code of Conduct Taskforce may provide a foundation upon which a Code of Conduct may be established.”
Dominic Nolan, CEO of the The Australian Sugar Milling Council (ASMC) said the report was largely expected.
“There were clear indications throughout the public hearings conducted by the Committee that the Report from the Inquiry was going to recommend a mandatory Code of Conduct, and that is what we have,” Nolan said.
“The report does not make a case for government intervention, and it does not adequately consider what the impact of such regulation will be for the sugar industry. There is still no clear statement of what the problem is that this recommended regulatory approach is supposed to address.”
“There are no surprises in the Inquiry’s recommendation, however it doesn’t take away from the real imperative: the only viable solution to current challenges around sugar marketing arrangements is through a commercially negotiated outcome between mill companies and their growers,” Nolan said.