Pierre van Heerden is the first-ever grocery commissioner
The Grocery Industry Dispute Resolution Scheme has been approved and officially rolled out, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Andrew Bayly announced yesterday.
The New Zealand Dispute Resolution Centre (NZDRC) has been selected to administer the scheme, which facilitates the fast and cost-effective resolution of disputes between suppliers to and the wholesale customers of regulated grocery retailers that are valued at a maximum of $5m. Pierre van Heerden has been named the first-ever grocery commissioner.
The scheme was effected under the Grocery Industry Competition Act 2023 and the Grocery Supply Code 2023, as well as the scheme’s rules.
The grocery retailers designated for inclusion in the scheme are Foodstuffs North Island Limited, Foodstuffs South Island Limited and Woolworths New Zealand Limited, as well as associated entities such as franchisees. The scheme also covers the “suppliers of groceries under the Grocery Supply Code or wholesale customers for groceries under the wholesale access regime in the Act”, the NZDRC said. All the grocery retailers under regulation must adhere to the scheme’s rules.
The designated regulated grocery retailers are financing the scheme. It can be accessed by their suppliers and wholesale customers in accordance with the scheme’s rules.
In the process of finalising the scheme’s proposed rules, the NZDRC consulted with industry and regulatory stakeholders. These rules were subsequently approved by Bayly. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Grocery Commissioner, and the Commerce Commission made contributions.
“We are pleased to have the grocery industry dispute resolution scheme up and running. We look forward to working with grocery suppliers, wholesale customers, the regulated grocery retailers and other stakeholders to make the scheme successful”, said Michael Jamieson, manager – commercial contracts at NZDRC.
