29 January 1998: ACI Glass is planning on lowering the prices of its wine bottles, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found the costs to be higher then normal.
ACCC direc…
29 January 1998: ACI Glass is planning on lowering the prices of its wine bottles, after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) found the costs to be higher then normal. ACCC director Lin Enright said the company was under question because of government and wine industry concern at high bottle prices. Federal Treasurer Peter Costello had asked the ACCC 16 months ago to examine various claims that the price of wine bottles was too high. Wine industry exports emerged as the main concern in the first year of monitoring, with fears Australia“s high bottle prices could constrain the industry, valued at more than A$ 603 million in 1996-7. The monitoring report by the ACCC, the first in a three-year series, found however, that the glass giant did “not appear” to have taken advantage of its market power by increasing prices. A report confirmed the glass giant“s prices were at least on par with imported bottles, but could be 30% to 100% higher. It also revealed ACI“s wine bottle unit price rose 5.5% in the six months to 31 March 1997. “After the first period, our broad conclusion is that the ACI does not seem to have taken advantage by increasing prices in areas of market power,” Ms. Enright said. “But their prices are still high.” An ACI spokesman, who refused to be named, said the group had seen the report but had no comment. ACI, a BTR Nylex subsidiary, is Australia“s sole bottle manufacturer, producing glass bottles for wine, beer, spirits, soft drinks and fruit juice, and other packaging types. Its wine bottle division comprises about one-quarter of the business and is valued at A$ 170 million, with its products used in the annual export of about 150 million litres of wine.