Fed: ACCC inquiry into grocery prices starts today

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2008
Fed: ACCC inquiry into grocery prices starts today

SYDNEY, April 1 AAP - A public inquiry into whether shoppers are being price-gouged
at the checkout begins in Sydney today.

The inquiry by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission (ACCC) will review
all aspects of the supply chain in the grocery industry, including the nature of competition
at the supply, wholesale and retail levels.

It will assess whether consumers are getting a fair deal, the ACCC says.

In their public submission to the inquiry, researchers working at the World Health
Organisation (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Obesity Prevention have called for the inquiry
to look specifically at the prices of healthy foods.

"We submit that as part of this inquiry the ACCC should consider not only food prices
in general, but should also look specifically at the prices of healthy foods and the implications
of the relatively high cost of healthy foods for low income consumers," the researchers
from Deakin University say in their submission, published online.

"While obesity levels are increasing in the whole Australian population the prevalence
of obesity is disproportionately high in socio-economically disadvantaged populations.

"The high cost of food and the poor availability of healthy foods are some of the factors
that explain this higher prevalence of obesity in low-income populations."

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KEYWORD: GROCERY

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