Canberra – September 1, 2025
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched civil proceedings in the Federal Court against four major fresh produce suppliers and three executives, alleging a multi-year price-fixing cartel in the supply of vegetables to supermarket chain ALDI.
The alleged conduct, which ran from 2018 to 2024, covered staple vegetables including broccoli, cauliflower, iceberg lettuce, cucumber, Brussels sprouts and zucchini, sold in ALDI stores across New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.
The ACCC has named as respondents:
- Perfection Fresh Australia, the country’s second-largest fresh vegetable supplier;
- Hydro Produce (Aust);
- Veli Velisha Fresh Produce and Velisha National Farms, along with Director and CEO Catherine Velisha and Senior Sales Manager Kaushik Vora;
- M. Fragapane & Sons, trading as Fragapane Farms, and its General Sales Manager Roberto Nave.
According to the regulator, the suppliers made or attempted to make cartel arrangements on 28 occasions, and on 48 occasions submitted prices to ALDI in line with those arrangements. The alleged conduct focused on ALDI’s “agile pricing” system, which requires weekly quotes for items such as broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce.
“Businesses acting together instead of competing can drive up prices and harm consumers,” said ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb. “Protecting competition in our fresh food supply chains is extremely important to drive price competition for the benefit of Australian consumers.”
The ACCC is seeking civil penalties, compliance orders and costs against the businesses, as well as penalties, disqualification orders and costs against the executives.
If proven, the companies face maximum penalties of up to $50 million per breach (for conduct after November 2022), while individuals face fines of up to $2.5 million per breach.
