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Australia: Craft brewers fight for pub access

By  |  January 22, 2014

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has reportedly initiated a probe into allegations that pubs and major beer brewers are potentially squeezing smaller, craft brewers out of the market, say reports.

As part of its case, the ACCC sent a letter to various small brewers to inquire as to whether they believe any collusive behavior is occurring between pubs and major beer brewers. Reports say the authority is looking into whether any anticompetitive contracts are made to prevent smaller brewers’ beer from being served on tap.

According to one small brewer, Wade Curtis, big beer firms and pubs ink deals that offer up to 80 percent of the taps to the big guys.

But according to former ACCC commissioner Stephen King, the case may not be a competition issue, but commended the regulator for looking into the matter.

Full Content: ABC

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