World’s biggest dairy biz Lactalis gets $950,000 fine from ACCC

afr.com:

French dairy juggernaut Lactalis’s Australian subsidiary has capped off ACCC’s allegations it breached the Dairy Code of Conduct with a miniscule fine, after a Federal Court judgement on Tuesday.

Lactalis is a major dairy processor in Australia.  Louie Douvis

Lactalis walked away almost scot-free from ACCC’s claims from 2021 that its Australian business breached the code, which was implemented in 2019 to bring greater transparency between dairy farmers and the processors who buy their milk produce.

Several of ACCC’s allegations were dismissed by the Federal Court in September 2022, but Lactalis did end up copping a $950,000 fine this week as the proceedings drew to an end.

To put the size of that fine in context, Lactalis made a whopping €28.3 billion in 2022 revenue. ACCC’s fine is so small, it wouldn’t even show up as a rounding error in the Frenchie’s financials.

“Today the Federal Court has applied a penalty to Lactalis Australia in the amount of $950,000. Lactalis accepts the penalty and notes that it reflects the Federal Court’s previous findings that the breaches were unintentional and technical only in nature,” its Australian boss Mal Carseldine wrote in a letter sent to stakeholders on Tuesday.

“In no way were the breaches a deliberate attempt to gain any kind of advantage in our contractual milk supply arrangements with Australian dairy farmers. We acknowledge and appreciate the careful consideration of the Court in this matter.”