COLES and Woolworths may be damaging competition in the petrol market by offering shoppers discounts of up to 45¢ a litre, the competition watchdog says.
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The shopper docket discounts could eliminate other petrol retailers and cause petrol prices to rise, Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Rod Sims said yesterday.
While the watchdog cannot ban shopper dockets, it can take legal action to stop anti-competitive activity, he said.
"We're about protecting competitive processes," Mr Sims said after addressing an Australian Institute of Company Directors lunch.
"If these shopper dockets continue at these levels, it's going to be very hard for other players to compete, and we may end up with two companies in the country selling petrol, which is not going to be in your [the consumers'] interest."
If the retail giants want to offer large discounts, they should do so on groceries and food, he said.
The ACCC has been investigating shopper docket offers by the major supermarket chains since mid-2012, and expects to finalise its inquiry in the next few months.
Mr Sims said he was concerned when fuel discounts hit 8¢ a litre, but of late the discounts have hit 45¢ a litre.
The 45¢ discount required a very large amount of groceries to be bought, or purchases of specific items, Mr Sims said. AAP
