As the grocery industry regulator, our role includes monitoring competition and efficiency in the grocery industry, promoting transparency, carrying out reviews, inquiries and studies, making information available and enforcing the law.
We also have specific responsibilities for the Grocery Wholesale Supply regime and the Grocery Supply Code of Conduct.
Our broader regulatory role also means that we oversee the Commerce Act and the Fair Trading Act, which cover all businesses in New Zealand, including grocery retailers.
Grocery Supply Code
The Grocery Supply Code took effect from 28 September 2023. It creates new rules around the agreements between suppliers and regulated grocery retailers.
The Supply Code’s purpose is to promote competition and efficiency in the grocery market by:
promoting fair conduct, and prohibiting unfair conduct
promoting transparency and certainty about the agreements
contributing to a trading environment that supports competition, confident participants and a diverse range of suppliers in the grocery industry.
The Code applies to all new agreements made on or after 28 September 2023. The grace period has now ended [28 March 2024], whereby RGRs are required to offer amendments to existing agreements or new agreements that are compliant with the Grocery Supply Code. There is no requirement for suppliers to have signed by this date. After 28 March the provisions of the Code apply irrespective of what is in the agreement. However please be aware that agreements made in accordance with the Code to "contract out" of its protections will still stand.
The Commission’s responsibilities for the Grocery Supply Code include:
monitoring compliance
recommending whether more retailers should be regulated by the Supply Code
reviewing and reporting on how well the Supply Code is working and recommending any changes to it
making determinations to impose rules or allow exemptions from certain rules.
The Commission has published a factsheet that provides an overview of the Supply Code, as well as information on the Grocery Supply Code’s background, key features and where to get more information. We have also published a checklist which is designed to provide guide reviews of supply agreements against the provisions of the Code.
