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Date Published : Thursday, July 31, 2008
Consumer group the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has said there is no "magic wand" that can ease the pressure on bank accounts caused by the country's high grocery prices, according to reports.
News.com.au said the warning is included in the commission's six-month report on food prices, which it submitted to the federal government on July 31st.
Further details of the ACCC's study will not be revealed until the government issues its public response to its recommendations, although there is speculation that the report calls for a price watch system and tighter regulation of Australia's supermarket chains in order to increase competition.
Christopher Zinn of Choice, part of the Australian Consumers Association, told ABC Radio that at the moment, the grocery market is dominated by a few companies.
"Seventy-five per cent, 80 per cent of this industry is concentrated in Coles or Woolworths. We think that's too much - they need to reduce the barriers of entry to more competitors," he said.
"Competition can put downward pressure on prices, that's the best we can hope for."
Among the measures the ACCC is expected to propose are changes to zoning laws that would allow new grocery firms to move into areas previously zoned as non-food retail, the site said.
Choice has also called on the government to adopt a national unit pricing strategy, similar to the model being introduced by Queensland's state legislature.
Mr Zinn said such a scheme could save consumers up to $800 million a year.
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