Perfection Fresh has admitted fixing prices for vegetables supplied to ALDI and will join Australia’s competition regulator in asking the Federal Court to impose a A$12 million penalty.
The admissions cover nine contraventions and one attempted contravention of the Competition and Consumer Act. According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the conduct occurred on 11 occasions during 2019 and 2020 and concerned broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce supplied in New South Wales.
The company has accepted that it made or attempted to make arrangements with competing suppliers about prices to be offered to ALDI. Cartel rules prohibit competitors from agreeing on price, output, customers or territories because such coordination displaces independent competition.
The proposed penalty is not yet an order. The Federal Court must decide whether A$12 million is appropriate, even where the parties make a joint submission. The court will also consider the agreed facts and any proposed declarations, compliance measures or costs orders before entering final judgment.
Proceedings against other suppliers and individuals named in the regulator’s case remain ongoing. No finding against those respondents follows from Perfection Fresh’s admissions, and their liability will be determined separately.
The ACCC began the broader case in September 2025. Its October 26 announcement marks a partial resolution, not the conclusion of the litigation.
