ACCC raises CBH access issues

THE battle to deregulate wheat exports may have been won but the war over monopolies in the sector continues.

The latest skirmish is focused on an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission review of access arrangements of grain handlers that operate transport and ship loading facilities around the country, including Cooperative Bulk Handling in Western Australia.

CBH, which is also a grains exporter, has submitted that its access arrangements for rival wheat exporters are suitable.

However, it faces criticism from farmers' organisation Pastoralists and Graziers Association over its handling facilities.

The review comes after a turbulent year of change in WA farming.

Discredited by bribery scandals in Iraq, AWB lost its wheat export monopoly two years ago, and new export arrangements came into place in July 2008, creating a more open market as many growers became exporters in their own right.

Despite a below-average wheat crop of 8.9 million tonnes, there were numerous issues surrounding the export of grain, including the allocation of berthing times for ships that use CBH's facilities.

In many cases ships were held up at anchorage, costing exporters significant sums. However, there are competing claims about who lost out due to these delays.

PGA policy director Sheldon Mumby said there should be a more transparent access regime providing broader information to farmers about how much grain was in the system and where it was in geographic terms, to help traders avoid bottlenecks and better price their commodities.

Mr Mumby said the current system only provided information to traders on grain they controlled, rather than what was happening in the wider market.

He said the deregulation of the market had created a lot of new traders, but system flaws may restrict further growth.

"Part of the problem we have with it, and I think a lot of other people have with it, is it limits competition," Mr Mumby said.

"That (competition) is something we are seeing a surge of and it's happening a lot quicker than anyone can have imagined."

He said the past season was only a learning curve and the coming season would be a real test of the market.

CBH, which is also at odds with the PGA over the need for investment in rail infrastructure, denies the handling monopoly provided an advantage and sources claimed that its trading arm, Grain Pool, had faced its own shipping issues due to the need to keep access arrangements fair.

Lawfield Legal Practice principal Stephen Hicks said it was important the ACCC understood how the existing arrangements worked in the field.

"The experience acquired last year by the wheat exporters is critical to an analysis of these issues, so hopefully one or all of them will participate in the ACCC process to ensure that their experience is passed on," Mr Hicks said.