I, Dr David Clark, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, pursuant to section 51 of Part 3A of the Commerce Act 1986, require the Commerce Commission to carry out a competition study into any factors that may affect competition for the supply or acquisition of groceries by retailers in New Zealand. Matters to be considered in the study must include, but are not restricted to:

1. the structure of the grocery industry at the wholesale and retail levels;
2. the nature of competition at the wholesale and retail levels of the grocery industry;
3. the pricing practices of the major grocery retailers;
4. the grocery procurement practices of the major grocery retailers; and
5. the price, quality, product range and service offerings for retail customers.

The Commerce Commission should now make its final report for this study publicly available by 8 March 2022.

Dated this 24th day of September 2021.

Dr DAVID CLARK, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.