Perfection Fresh admits cartel conduct over vegetables sold to Aldi, agrees to $12 million penalty

Perfection Fresh has admitted to cartel conduct and agreed to jointly submit to the Federal Court that it should pay a $12 million penalty for nine contraventions and one attempted contravention, and establish a competition law compliance program. Mirage News reported the admissions. The Court will determine whether the proposed penalty and other orders are appropriate at a later date.

Perfection Fresh's Admissions in the ACCC Case

The ACCC commenced civil proceedings in the Federal Court in September 2025 against Perfection Fresh, three other suppliers and three individuals for alleged price fixing while supplying fresh vegetables to ALDI, in breach of Australia's competition laws.

The ACCC alleged, and Perfection Fresh has admitted, that on eleven occasions between 2019 and 2020, Perfection Fresh engaged in cartel conduct by fixing the prices of broccoli, cauliflower and iceberg lettuce supplied to ALDI in New South Wales.

"Cartel conduct undermines competition and can increase prices, harming consumers and raising the cost of doing business," ACCC Commissioner Luke Woodward said.

"Enforcing cartel laws and protecting competition in the supply of fresh food are ongoing priorities for the ACCC."

The ACCC's case against the other suppliers and individuals is ongoing. As the matter remains before the Court, the ACCC will not be making further comment at this time.

Perfection Fresh has admitted it engaged in price fixing on eleven occasions, but the penalty to be considered by the Court relates to nine contraventions and one attempted contravention because one of the admitted contraventions is outside the time period for a penalty to apply. The maximum penalties applicable to the conduct depend on when it occurred, and these penalties changed in November 2022 and March 2026.

Perfection Fresh's Funding and Glasshouse Expansion

Perfection Fresh Australia is a family-founded, vertically integrated fresh produce grower and distributor that develops, produces and supplies more than 52 trademarked fruit and vegetable varieties to Australian retailers, wholesale markets, food service operators and consumers across nine production and distribution sites, according to akta.pro company records. The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Rhodes, Australia.

The same records show an investment consortium comprising Equilibrium Capital, Temasek and PSP Investments completed an investment in Perfection Fresh in March 2022 to fund expansion of controlled environment agriculture facilities and international market presence, particularly in Asia. The company committed to international expansion into Asian markets and scaled the 43-hectare Two Wells glasshouse facility in South Australia, described in the records as the largest sustainable glasshouse of its type in the southern hemisphere.

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