September 23, 2008

 

Western Australia's CBH says operations unhindered by credit crisis

 
 

Western Australia-based grain company Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd. said its balance sheet is strong and its harvest and marketing operations would not be hindered by the global credit crisis.

 

The cost of finance has increased in Australia as it has elsewhere but this has not affected CBH marketing unit Grain Pool's ability to secure access to finance or its capacity to pay growers, Josh Roberts, Grain Pool’s senior trading manager, said in a statement issued late Monday.

 

"We have banks who are keen to work with us and already we've lined up the financing we require for this harvest," he said. "Grain Pool intends to be in the market for all grains, each and every day."

 

CBH is well positioned to withstand the conditions of a volatile market, and the growers who own the company should feel confident knowing it is strongly positioned, he said.

 

Many people are asking how the major participants in Australian agriculture will access finance ahead of the harvest period in the coming months, and growers need to consider who they sell they grain to, he said.

 

Roberts also said that since prices have fallen recently, grain has become more affordable for consumers, and Western Australian grain will continue to be sought after globally.

 

Bulk wheat exports from Australia were liberalized on July 1, with 13 companies, including CBH, now accredited as exporters.

 

Grain Pool is the biggest marketer of barley, canola, lupins and oats from Western Australia - a major supplier of globally traded wheat and barley - and is fast becoming a major exporter of Australian wheat. CBH operates a network of upcountry grain storage facilities and four export terminals and is a joint venture partner in five flour mills in Asia.
   

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