Key Points:
The case against the Australian Egg Corporation Limited
floundered on the lack of reciprocity or commitment in the context
of a prescribed arrangement or understanding.
It's eggstraordinary, but the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently failed in
an action brought against the Australian Egg Corporation Limited
(AECL), three directors and two egg companies,
alleging an attempt to enter into an agreement or understanding to
limit egg production (ACCC v Australian Egg Corporation Limited
[2016] FCA 69).
The case concerned a perceived oversupply of eggs, coupled with
a meeting of egg producers and the industry body, the AECL. While
the ACCC demonstrated the participants at the so-called
"crisis meeting" in January 2012 intended to take action
to address the issue of an oversupply of eggs in the Australian
market, the Federal Court found that the ACCC had not proved that
the conduct was an attempt to make an agreement or
