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He once derided his opponents as “delulu with no solulu.” But in Lulu, Anthony Albanese hopes he has found an answer to Australia’s supermarket competition challenge.
The prime minister finished his 10-day overseas mission with a stopover in United Arab Emirates, visiting a local Lulu “hypermarket” and inviting the business to expand to Australia.
“I want to see more competition,” he said. “This is a significant company.”
‘I want to see that competition’
Lulu Hypermarket is one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East, with over 250 stores across the region.
“They are the largest throughout the Middle East. Egypt, here … the second-largest in Saudi Arabia,” Albanese said.
“We know that Aldi, of course, have come to Australia, but this is a significant player that has an engagement with Australia and I want to see that competition.”
Albanese said he “had a little discussion” with Lulu chairman Yusuff Ali “as we were walking around” the Abu Dhabi store, which had a display specially arranged with Australian products, including meats, cheese and biscuits.
“This company is big enough to have direct relations with [Australian] producers, whether they be mango producers, the orange producers, the meat producers that the chairman met in Mudgee that are still providing Halal-certified meat into this market,” Albanese said.
Lulu Hypermarket is one of the largest retail chains in the Middle East, with more than 250 outlets across the region. Source: Getty / Tasneem Alsultan / Bloomberg
Election promises to outlaw price gouging
During its election campaign, Labor promised to outlaw supermarket price gouging, with Albanese saying supermarkets were “taking the piss” out of Australians.
In March, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) released its final report after a year-long supermarket inquiry, finding the dominance of Woolworths and Coles had an “oligopolistic” effect on the broader industry.
There was also “limited incentive” for Coles and Woolworths to compete on price because of their market dominance, the review found.
But the consumer watchdog said it was “very difficult” to tell whether price gouging was actually happening in supermarkets.
Both Coles and Woolworths denied accusations of price gouging.
Free trade deal with UAE about to begin
A free trade deal between Australia and the UAE will enter into force on Wednesday, removing tariffs between the two countries.
The UAE is one of the wealthiest countries in the region, with two-way goods and services trade worth $9.9 billion in 2023, and two-way investment just over double that.
The visit was also timed for the 50-year anniversary of formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.
The quick stopover in the Middle East came after more lengthy engagements in the United States — for Leaders Week at the United Nations — and the United Kingdom.
Albanese will be back overseas again soon, expected to take in a number of international gatherings during “summit season”, and then for a much-anticipated formal meeting with Donald Trump.
The US president couldn’t squeeze the prime minister into his diary on his recent travel, but has confirmed a bilateral meeting on 20 October at the White House.
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