West Australians urged to boycott milk products of Coles and Woolworths
A Nationals legislator urged West Australians to show their full support on the state's dairy industry by shunning away from the milk products found on the supermarket shelves of Coles, I-G-A and Woolworths.
MP Tony Cook said on Friday that the boycott is necessary lest the WA milk industry will absorb huge losses as a direct result of the giant retailers' move of slashing milk prices they sell by up to 33 percent.
The prices cuts have been extended to butter and cream with Coles' announcement of Friday that the home products will also see price reductions.
Cook said that he will call the attention of the federal government for a review on the latest marketing ploys being implemented by the major supermarkets in relation to the Trade Practices Act and Competition Policy.
He said that the government needs to assess the impact of the move to WA producers.
Cook said by heeding his call, a strong message will be sent to the giant stores and "the first thing West Australians can do is to make sure that they buy West Australian milk and they buy it from companies that don't force the price down initially."
Also, WA farmers voiced out their concerns that the announced cuts on butter and cream products will hurt them and force them out of the market, a spectre they said would only redound to hardships for consumers too.
On the other hand, the state's Farmers Federation said that the present problem was brought about by poor legislation as the group's president, Mike Norton, asked the government to consider amending the Trade Practices Act to allow more meaningful forms of regulation in the retail industry.