Deregulating Australia’s wheat market has been a triumph and a tragedy for Mark Hoskinson.The wheat grower from New South Wales says the loss of the single desk has been a blessing for a few corporate farms but a burden for most wheat producers.“The Australian wheat industry has been built on the back of the family owned and operated farms,” said Hoskinson, chair of the NSW Farmers’ Association’s grains committee.“Now we’re seeing these major corporate farms come into play at the peril of the smaller wheat farmer.”The Australian Wheat Board’s single desk for wheat exports came to an end July 1, 2008, commencing a new era for the country’s farmers and grain industry.Under the new system, 29 companies are now licensed to export Australia’s wheat.Hoskinson said the open wheat market is hammering smaller producers, who, in the past, could usually make a decent profit growing wheat if they produced a low moisture, high protein crop.“A lot of Australian wheat was a premium grade wheat,” said Hoskinson, who farms near the town of Griffith, 600 kilometres west of Sydney.“But now we’re seeing our quality dropping back. So now we compare it with the export oats or export barley in Australia, which is a non-premium export industry and doesn’t return much to the growers.”As well, increased competition hasn’t encouraged higher wheat prices, said Derek Clauson, who farms 5,000 acres in Western Australia.“Instead of having one body represent Australian wheat sales and negotiate from a position of strength, we’ve now got various parties competing to service the same markets. The lowest bidder into any marketplace will get that business,” said Clauson, former president of the Western Australia Farmers Federation.Many growers and several farm groups may continue to lament the loss of the single desk, but Australia’s Productivity Commission said it’s not all doom and gloom.The Australian government’s independent advisory body released a report in March on the country’s wheat export marketing system.The three commissioners who wrote the report concluded that deregulation is far from a disaster.“There are still issues related to port access and supply chains to be worked through as part of the ongoing transition,” lead commissioner Wendy Craik wrote in an e-mail to The Western Producer.“(But) growers were paid, and no trader experienced bankruptcy. Growers were provided with a variety of options for marketing, transporting and storing their wheat.”Craik also said discontent with the new system has been overstated.“Based on the number of submissions our inquiry has had (92), compared with previous ‘single desk wheat exports’ inquiries (eg. 3,000 submissions in 2000), dissatisfaction does not seem to be widespread.”The commissioners are recommending further deregulation of Australia’s wheat industry, including the elimination of exporter accreditation.
Read Also
First annual Ag in Motion Junior Cattle Show kicks off with a bang
Ag in Motion 2025 had its first annual junior cattle show on July 15. The show hosted more than 20…
