Bunnings has been dragged into the supermarket price inquiry

Farmers say they have been too scared to publicly criticise Australia’s ‘most trusted brand’. Now they’re speaking out.

Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider says the company was not previously aware of claims made about it in a senate inquiry. Photo: Peter Mathew

Nursery growers say they face the same exploitative behaviour as fruit and vegetable farmers and want government responses to its supermarket inquiries to include Bunnings and other so-called big-box stores.

Industry advocates claim the same price-setting and transparency issues raised about supermarkets and their dealings with farmers are also prevalent when it comes to Bunnings and the supply of seedlings.

The hardware giant has a significant national share of the plant retail market and lists plants as its second biggest seller in terms of units sold.

Frustrated nursery growers allege Bunnings is wielding its market supremacy to force suppliers into accepting unreasonable prices for their produce.

Last week Greenlife Industry Australia chief executive Jo Cave told a Senate hearing into supermarket prices that growers were too frightened to raise the issues in the past because they feared retaliatory action from Bunnings.

“Morale with growers supplying big-box retailers is as low as it can be,” Ms Cave said.

“I’ve spoken to at least 200 growers in the run-up to this inquiry, all of whom have shared their stories with me and some of whom have wept openly.

“Not one of them is sitting next to me today because they genuinely fear retribution if they come somewhere like this and tell you their story directly.”

Ms Cave said some growers were being encouraged to plant up to 10,000 seedlings but given a contract for only a single plant.

“And they might ask several of the growers in the region to also plant 10,000,” Ms Cave said.

“But they’re under no obligation to take any from anybody. Of course, that’s a perfect example of asymmetry of information, because the big-box retailer has all the information on who is growing, the numbers they’ve been encouraged to grow and the prices that they’re requesting.

“They can pick and choose. They can take 8000 or 5000 or none. It’s up to them.”

Ms Cave said grower appeals for price increases were routinely rejected after lengthy reviews while retailers would raise costs of nursery products overnight.

The industry has called for big-box stores to be included in the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, which governs dealings between suppliers and retailers, and is expected to be strengthened as a result of the multiple inquiries into supermarket pricing.

Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider rejected the idea, saying the code was not relevant to the home improvement and outdoor living market.

Bunnings has disputed Ms Cave’s claim that the company has a 70 per cent market share of greenlife products.

Mr Schneider said the concerns put forward by Ms Cave had not been previously made with the organisation, which pollster Roy Morgan this month crowned Australia’s “most trusted brand”.

“There are some things in there that come as a bit of a surprise to us,” Mr Schneider told The Australian.

“If we’ve got people out there who genuinely feel that they’ve been impacted by something that has occurred, understanding that to try to put it right is something we are really keen to be able to do. It’s definitely who we are or what we want.” He said the company did not engage in the kind of conduct alleged by Ms Cave in relation to growers being told to raise huge numbers of plants but contracted for only single plants.