February 17, 2009
Australian wheat exports rising on reduced port delays
Wheat exports from Western Australia, the country's top wheat exporter, are increasing as grain handler CBH Group speeds the flow of grain from silos to ports.
The group is working to reduce shipping delays by adding trucks and trailers, said a CBH spokeswoman, adding that the group is planning to move 3 million tonnes from now through to the end of April.
The increased capacity translates to nearly 1 million tonnes per month compared with the previous maximum of 700,000 tonnes.
About 2.5 million tonnes of the new crop had been sent to export terminals for shipping by last Thursday (Feb 12).
Grain ships have faced major delays at Western Australian ports as CBH struggled to deliver grain to ports after the state's winter crop harvest yielded about 12.3 million tonnes of grain, including 8.9 million tonnes of wheat.
Grain trading firms were in talks with CBH to resolve the problem that arose because too many traders tried to fill orders at the same time.
