John Durie June 06, 2013 The Australian AUSTRALIA’S high cost of living has taken another victim with Simplot Australia considering shutting two plants, which provide 15 per cent of its sales and employ 325 people, because it cannot compete with rivals such as New Zealand. Local boss Terry O’Brien told The Australian there was no single reason his frozen vegetable plants in Devonport in Tasmania and Bathurst in NSW couldn’t compete, which made it difficult to find the solution “because there are a whole range of factors which when added up make us uncompetitive”. “Trouble is, given the costs of living in Australia, it’s not that our workforce is getting rich either,” he added. In a recent presentation, Coles merchandise boss John Durkan noted Australia had the third-highest manufacturing labour costs in the world. According to US Department of Labour statistics, Australian manufacturing workers collected $US28.55 an hour compared with…

6 June 2013 The Guardian Internet giant to start delivering groceries in the US with a view to replicating the venture in the UK if it proves successful Retailers large and small in the US and Europe have complained that Amazon is pricing them out of the market. Amazon is reported to be gearing up to take on another sector – the $1tn (£650bn) a year US food market. If successful, the venture could be replicated in the UK. The move will disturb critics already concerned about Amazon’s growing dominance in everything from books to electronics. The firm has for six years had a grocery service called Amazon Fresh that operates in its home town of Seattle, delivering groceries with its own fleet of trucks. According to Reuters, the company is now preparing to roll out the service in California, starting with Los Angeles and San Francisco, and could launch…

AFP June 07, 2013 Canadian competition authorities claim Mars, Nestle and distributors colluded to fix the price of Kit Kats, Twix, Snickers, Bounty and M&Ms between 2002 and 2008. Source: news.com.au CANADIAN authorities charged Nestle, Mars and a network of independent wholesale distributors over an alleged criminal conspiracy to fix the prices of leading chocolate bars. Competition Commissioner John Pecman called their alleged actions “egregious anti-competitive behaviour that harms Canadian consumers” and “a serious criminal offense.” A whistleblower triggered the investigation that uncovered “evidence suggesting that the accused conspired, agreed or arranged to fix prices of chocolate products,” the Competition Bureau said in a statement. Three individuals were also charged: Robert Leonidas, former president of Nestle Canada; Sandra Martinez, former president of Confectionery for Nestle Canada; and David Glenn Stevens, head of Canadian food distributor ITWAL. If convicted, they face a fine of up to $C10 million and imprisonment for…

May 29, 2013 NACS Online Ireland will become the first country in the European Union to enforce plain packaging on cigarettes.​ ​ DUBLIN – Ireland is set to become the first country in the European Union to ban branding on packs of cigarettes. All trademarks, logos, colors and graphics will be removed from tobacco products sold in Ireland under the new plain-packaging rules, according to a proposal that secured backing from the government. Also, the brand name of the product will be presented in a uniform typeface in packs of one plain neutral color, which has yet to specified. It’s now up to Parliament to approve the law before it can take effect, but the governing coalition enjoys a strong majority, reports Reuters. The news source adds that the British government is considering a similar plain-packaging rule on cigarettes, but the proposal was omitted from the government’s legislative agenda earlier…

May 29, 2013 NACS Online The bill would add a 1-cent tax per ounce for every bottled sweetened beverage with more than 25 calories per 12 ounces. SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Californians may have to pony up an extra penny-per-ounce to buy sweetened drinks, CBS News reports. State Sen. Bill Monning introduced a bill that would tack on a 1-cent tax per ounce for every bottled sweetened beverage with more than 25 calories per 12 ounces. Beverage distributors would pay the fee, but could pass along that cost to consumers. That would mean an extra $1.44 for a dozen soda cans. The tax money would be funneled into the Children’s Health Promotion Fund. “We’re witnessing the perfect storm — a costly childhood obesity crisis driven by a 228% increase in soda consumption and looming budget cuts that would abandon the very programs protecting those children,” said Monning, in a press release.…