WA wheatgrowers are demonstrating their ongoing, serious mistrust of AWB by stockpiling nearly a million tonnes of wheat, according to the Pastoralists and Graziers' Association.
PGA Western Graingrowers chairman Leon Bradley said two thirds of WA's current wheat harvest had been acquired by non-AWB interests including CBH with more than a million tonnes.
Over 800,000 tonnes worth around $200 million was still in the hands of growers, being warehoused at their expense.
"WA growers know that if they deliver more wheat to CBH, it must be passed on to AWB, exposing them to uncertain returns via AWB's base service fee and other undisclosed costs. They are therefore prepared to incur extra borrowing and storage costs to avoid AWB.
"For many WA growers, the future of their warehoused wheat poses a much greater potential cost than droughts, higher interest rates, floods and foreign exchange, because the Howard government is trying to force them to sell their wheat to the AWB.
"They do not trust the AWB pool estimates, because they remember 2002 when in a similar drought year, AWB reduced its pool prices from an estimated $300 per tonne to an actual of $245 within months of delivery.
"As predicted, Cabinet's 'remedy' of issuing limited licenses to alleviate the problems of WA growers failed within a fortnight, and is seen as no more than a blatant federal effort to bail out the discredited AWB, forcing them to wear the cost.
"Unless the Howard Cabinet is prepared to immediately issue more wheat licences to the 44 applicants with export orders for 5 million tonnes of wheat, more WA growers will be forced to continue holding their wheat with no prospect of a sale." Mr Bradley said.