Hardware giant Bunnings has agreed to a statement of principles to address concerns about its relationships with plant suppliers. The issue came to light during last year's supermarket senate inquiry, when suppliers complained about Bunnings' behaviour and called for a code of conduct to protect growers.
Growers said they were "terrified" of making a complaint to Bunnings, and the industry group Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) said as many as 20 per cent of suppliers were operating at a loss.
GIA chief executive Joanna Cave said the agreement would address those issues and improve conditions for growers.
"Bunnings is an enormous, publicly listed company, so you can see straight away there's a structural disadvantage," Ms Cave said. "They lacked contracts, they couldn't negotiate terms, and a lot of things that Bunnings introduced into the relationship were introduced unilaterally by Bunnings."
Read more at ABC News