Derided as a haven for duopolies, Australia is in fact the scene of a price war in the crucial AUD88 billion (USD67.7b) food and grocery industry.
"There is now a more competitive environment for supermarkets than I’ve seen since my years in the regulatory environment," says Graeme Samuel, who chaired the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for eight years to 2011.
The nation’s number one retailer Woolworths has been cutting prices for years as it seeks to ward off the resurgent supermarket chain Coles. Both giants reported price deflation at their most recent half-year results in February.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald Online )