AUSVEG welcomes the announcement that it will deliver Food and Grocery Code of Conduct training for fresh produce suppliers to major supermarkets, as part of the Government’s Know Your Grocery Code program.

The announcement follows a government commitment to support fresh produce suppliers in better understanding and enforcing their rights under the strengthened Code, made in response to the final report of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) Supermarkets Inquiry.

Following heightened public, political and regulatory interest in the practices of supermarket retailers, as well as business relations between retailers and fresh produce grower-suppliers, the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct was strengthened and entered into force in April 2025.

AUSVEG CEO Michael Coote said Code training for fresh produce suppliers was timely given the continuing severe production cost surges facing Australian vegetable growers flowing from the Middle East conflict, and persistent challenges securing viable returns for their produce from their customers.

“Supermarket retailers remain the dominant channel through which Australians purchase most of their vegetables, and are the major – if not only – customer for many vegetable growers. Australian vegetable growers supply 10,000 tonnes of fresh produce into the domestic market each day, and 98 per cent of the fresh vegetables consumed in Australia, so the dynamic between the major retailers and grower-suppliers is crucial to Australia’s food security,” said Mr Coote.

“The now mandatory Food and Grocery Code includes enhancements like clearer good-faith obligations, stronger protections around price negotiations, product rejections, promotions and payments, and enhanced dispute-resolution pathways, but many grower-suppliers are still concerned about the longstanding power imbalance that is still making their business relations with large grocery retail businesses challenging.

“A level playing field is critical to ensuring the long-term viability of Australia’s vegetable growers and industry, and to protecting the future availability of Australian-grown vegetables for Aussie families.

“Many smaller fresh produce suppliers in particular are still facing barriers to understanding and enforcing their rights, including limited awareness of how the Code applies, a lack of formal negotiation training, limited confidence in escalating issues or disputes, and variable access to legal or commercial advice.

“As Australian vegetable growers continue facing severe production cost surges due to ongoing uncertainty over future supply of critical inputs, business dealings between grower-suppliers and retailers have come under renewed scrutiny, with growers still reporting challenges securing viable returns that allow them to continue growing and supplying the fresh vegetables that Aussie families depend on.

“Australian vegetable growers are facing a lot of heightened challenges right now, so it is very important that all growers understand the rights and protections available to them under the Code, and just as important they feel confident exercising those rights.

“AUSVEG welcomes the Government progressing this opportunity for growers to upskill and enhance their understanding of their rights and protections under the Code, as well as the opportunity to provide this important training in partnership with NextGen Group, which is a leading provider of Food and Grocery Code and retail negotiation training.”

Under the arrangements AUSVEG, in partnership with NextGen Group will deliver a national, legally validated training program for fresh produce suppliers to supermarket retailers, to include a mix of face-to-face regional workshops, structured virtual sessions and accessible e-learning modules, with further details to be communicated directly to growers.