July 16, 2007

GrainCorp granted South Australian barley export license
 

South Australia's state regulator, the Essential Services Commission, has granted GrainCorp Ltd. a license to export barley from the state, the company said Monday (Jul 16).

GrainCorp's Managing Director Tom Keene said the company will compete strongly to buy export barley in South Australia.

"Our international customers require a consistent supply of grain and we are now able to supply from all the major barley regions of Australia," Keene said in a statement.

South Australia liberalised barley exports from Jul 1. ABB Grain Ltd. and its predecessor Australian Barley Board operated a monopoly over barley exports from South Australia until Jun 30.

Keene said opening the South Australian barley market would benefit growers, as a number of companies will compete to buy grain.

"Growers will be looking for strong prices and that's what contestable markets can provide," he added.

GrainCorp operates eastern Australia's largest upcountry grain silo network and a monopoly string of export terminals along the east coast, as well as trading and exporting a wide variety of grains.

It has operated canola and wheat pools in South Australia since 2005.

South Australia accounted for an average 25 percent or 2.4 million tonnes of Australia's annual barley output in the five years to 2005/06.