竞争监管机构正对澳大利亚最大的鸡蛋供应商Sunny Queen及另外11家生产商提起诉讼，指控他们至少六年来通过“卡特尔行为”操纵市场。
The competition watchdog is suing Australia's largest egg supplier, Sunny Queen, and 11 other producers over allegations they engaged in "cartel conduct" for at least six years to manipulate the market.
澳大利亚竞争与消费者委员会（ACCC）周二在联邦法院对Sunny Queen及另外11家鸡蛋公司提起民事诉讼，其中包括Hall、McLean Farms和Kinross。
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) on Tuesday filed a civil case in the federal court against Sunny Queen and 11 other egg companies, including Hall, McLean Farms and Kinross.
自2020年10月起，ACCC指控这些企业通过协调产量、分销、扩张计划以及淘汰禽类以应对被视为的过剩供应，违反了竞争法。
Since at least October 2020, the ACCC alleges the businesses breached competition law by coordinating on production volumes, distribution, expansion plans and the culling of birds to manage perceived oversupply.
ACCC在宣布法律行动的声明中称，这种所谓的协调“可能在多年内大幅削弱竞争”，并可能导致消费者价格上涨。这些指控涉及散养、笼养和有机鸡蛋的生产与供应。
The alleged coordination likely "substantially reduced competition for many years" and potentially drove up consumer prices, the ACCC said in a statement announcing the legal action. The allegations relate to the production and supply of free-range, cage and organic eggs.
这是自ACCC在2017年引入禁止条款以来，首次涉及“协同行为”指控的案件。
It is the first case to involve "concerted practice" allegations since the ACCC introduced a prohibition in 2017.
协同行为指的是企业之间所谓的合作，超越了它们在市场条件下独立行动的范围。
A concerted practice involves alleged cooperation between businesses that goes beyond them acting independently in response to market conditions.
ACCC主席Gina Cass-Gottlieb表示，Sunny Queen、Hall和McLean Farms据称购买了位于图伍姆巴附近的一处房产，以阻止竞争对手鸡蛋供应商获得该房产，这导致了“竞争实质性削弱”。
The ACCC's chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, said Sunny Queen, Hall and McLean Farms allegedly bought a property near Toowoomba to prevent rival egg suppliers from acquiring it, which resulted in "substantially lessening competition".
监管机构还指控Sunny Queen限制了竞争对手Kinross向客户销售的鸡蛋数量，并阻止Kinross将其鸡蛋卖给Coles、Woolworths、Aldi、Metcash和Costco。
The watchdog also alleged that Sunny Queen restricted how many eggs its rival Kinross could sell to customers, and prevented Kinross from selling its eggs to Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Metcash and Costco.
Cass-Gottlieb表示：“我们致力于保护鲜食供应链中的竞争，使澳大利亚消费者能够获得企业在价格上竞争带来的好处。”
We are committed to protecting competition in fresh food supply chains so Australian consumers receive the benefits of businesses competing on price," Cass-Gottlieb said.
“这些诉讼提醒企业，必须独立作出生产、供应和定价决策。”ACCC正在寻求宣告、处罚、禁令、费用以及其他命令。
"These proceedings are a reminder that businesses must make their production, supply and pricing decisions independently." The ACCC is seeking declarations, penalties, injunctions, costs and other orders.
Sunny Queen的一位发言人否认了这些指控，并表示公司打算捍卫法庭程序。
A spokesperson for Sunny Queen denied the allegations and said the company intended to defend the court proceedings.
“Sunny Queen在整个调查过程中一直全力配合ACCC的工作。”他们表示。
"Sunny Queen has cooperated fully with the ACCC throughout the course of its investigation," they said.
“尽管这一过程仍在进行中，Sunny Queen的日常运营照常进行，我们将继续为澳大利亚家庭提供新鲜、营养丰富的鸡蛋。”《卫报》澳大利亚版已联系Hall、McLean Farms以及于2025年收购Kinross的Pace，以获取评论。更多细节即将公布……
"While this process is underway, it's business as usual for Sunny Queen and we will continue to supply Australian families with fresh, nutritious eggs." Guardian Australia has contacted Hall, McLean Farms and Pace – which acquired Kinross in 2025 – for comment. More details soon …