Five current or former employees of PGG Wrightson and Elders Rural Holdings have to pay penalties totalling $105,000 for a price-fixing arrangement charging fees for cattle ear tags.
After a penalty hearing at the High Court in Auckland for their respective roles in the price-fixing agreement, around introduction of the National Animal Identification and Tracing Act 2012, all five men admitted involvement in an anti-competitive agreement between their employers, PGG Wrightson and Elders, and other members of the New Zealand Stock and Station Agents Association, the Commerce Commission announced last week.
They had agreed to charge a minimum $25 fee for tagging any cattle and $10 for any calves that were presented at a saleyard without tags, as required by the Identification Act.
It had been agreed that the agents would pass that fee on to farmers, the Commerce Commission reported.
Four of the men, Nigel Thorpe, Donald Baines, Douglas Cartridge and Andrew Clark, were members of PGG Wrightson's tag project team.
The fifth person, Stuart Chapman, was Elders' managing director at the time, the commission said.
All five admitted their conduct breached the Commerce Act, and reached settlement agreements with the commission.
In addition to their respective penalties, each agreed to pay $5000 towards the commission's investigation costs.
In December 2015, PGG Wrightson and Rural Livestock were fined $2.7 million and $475,000 respectively after admitting their conduct in this case, the commission said.
Proceedings against the final defendant, Elders Rural Holdings, remain before the court.