CBH re-applies for wheat export licence

The CBH Group has re-submitted its application to the Wheat Export Authority to supply Western Australian wheat to its Interflour mills in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Australian Wheat Board, who is the exclusive manager and marketer of all Australian bulk wheat exports, had previously rejected a bid by CBH earlier this month to sell bulk quantities of the commodity overseas.
The deal arranged by CBH offered farmers $10 a tonne more than offered by the AWB for premium quality grain and had overwhelming support from WA growers who filled the 100,000 tonnes to Interflour in 9 hours.
CBH Group CEO Imre Mencshelyi said that given the overwhelming support and the unique nature of the application, the CBH Group had taken the decision to re-submit its application.
"We believe that our initial application was given only token consideration by AWB and was not assessed on its true, unique merits," he said.
"Our application presents a unique opportunity for the growers of Western Australia to supply wheat direct to their own milling facilities."
Mr Mencshelyi said the CBH Group is not seeking to be a marketer of Australian wheat into the Indonesian, Malaysian and Vietnamese markets.
"We are simply seeking the opportunity for growers in Western Australia to supply wheat direct to their mills in Asia, via a supply chain that has the ability to realise value back to those participating growers," he said.
"The CBH Group's application for bulk export consent has been made in order to displace wheat currently sourced by Interflour from non-Australian origins of supply and is therefore no threat to the volumes that AWBI anticipates selling into the markets in question.
"We stand by our belief that this application will offer significant financial benefit to the growers of Western Australia and hope that AWBI demonstrates a more thorough review of the application and with the best interests of WA wheat growers in mind."