Successful cartel prosecutions are as rare as hen's
teeth. The test for illegality is hard to meet, and in most cases
you'll only get circumstantial evidence of cartel conduct. The
ACCC's latest prosecution looked at whether an industry body
was attempting to induce cartel conduct between its
members.
The Australian Egg Corp (AECL) is an industry body for egg
producers in Australia. A couple of years back, an oversupply of
eggs threatened the industry. The AECL met with egg producers to
propose that they cut back supply (e.g. cull some birds or donate
eggs to the needy) to correct the problem.
The ACCC got wind of it and freaked out. To the naked eye it
looked like the AECL was attempting to induce competing egg
producers to collectively limit the supply of eggs. Which would be
an illegal attempt to induce cartel conduct, of the market-rigging
kind.
