The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Committee is today hearing evidence from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Federal Department of Agriculture in the second hearing of its inquiry into the Australian winegrape purchases code of conduct.

At a previous hearing held in South Australia’s Riverland, the country’s largest winegrowing region, the committee heard from grapegrowers about hardships in their industry ’caused by anti-competitive behaviour by big wine producers’.

Rural and Regional Affairs Committee chair, Greens Senator Barbara Pocock, said that grapegrowers in the Riverland region are “doing it tough”.

“When the supply of winegrapes exceeds demand you don’t need to be an economist to understand these growers are at the mercy of the big winemakers,” Senator Pocock said.

“The aggregation of wine producers in Australia has created an uneven playing field for winegrape growers who are often forced to sell their crops for less than what it costs to grow them.”

Senator Pocock said that an oversupply of winegrapes has left many growers at the mercy of the larger wine producers.

“We’ve heard stories of farmers who have dedicated their lives to the production of winegrapes who are too afraid to tell their stories because they fear retaliation from wineries.

“The current code of conduct for wine buyers is voluntary and penalties for non-compliance don’t exist. Independent grapegrowers are asking for a mandatory code of conduct that is enforceable to ensure they have a livelihood for their families. When this committee took evidence in Renmark in December, we heard from a young Riverland grapegrower who spoke of losing farmers to suicide, depression and bankruptcy.

“A spokesperson for independent growers, Jason Perrin, told our inquiry that the big companies have walked away from the agreed pricing process when it doesn’t suit them, basically destroying the credibility of the voluntary code. He says the industry needs a mandatory code that is legally binding and enforced by the ACCC.”

Today’s public hearing in Canberra also hears from Professor Kym Anderson, executive director of the Wine Economics Research Centre at the University of Adelaide.

The matter of the Australian winegrape purchases code of conduct was referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs Committee for inquiry on 19 September last year. Its report is expected to be released by 28 February.

The hearing is being be livestreamed here.

Transcripts and inquiry submissions are available to download here.

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