The Alberta government is launching a $100,000 comparison of Australia’s privatized grain marketing system and Canada’s government-backed grain marketing agency to see if there are benefits to the Australian model.
“If we are going to be making a transition from what is currently a legislative monopoly system to an open market system, as a result of pressures both internally and externally, we thought it would be a good idea to get some good information and hard assessment and analysis on the Australian experience,” said Nithi Govindasamy, a member of Alberta Agriculture’s policy secretariat.
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In 1999, the Australian Wheat Board ceased to exist, replaced by AWB Ltd., with two sets of shareholders, growers and investors. The Australian government provides no financial support to AWB Ltd., which is responsible for guaranteeing initial payments. Government legislation gives the company a monopoly on wheat exports.
The Canadian Wheat Board is the monopoly selling agent for all wheat and export barley grown in Western Canada.
For several years the Alberta government has lobbied the federal government to allow farmers to bypass the board when they’re exporting wheat or barley or selling wheat to domestic suppliers.
Earlier this year the Alberta government launched its $400,000 Choice Matters campaign to promote marketing choice. With one dual market supporter on the wheat board’s board of directors and the possible addition of more during this fall’s CWB election, the Alberta government wants good information on how AWB Ltd. works, Govindasamy said.
“We want to primarily look at the Australian experience of grain production, marketing and the deregulation that has taken place. We want to look at their experience to know whether that particular model Australia has followed, whether there’s anything in there that might be useful for us,” he said.
The recent targetting of the CWB by the World Trade Organization as an institution with unfair subsidies is a sign Canadians should be prepared to dismantle the board, he said.
“It’s prudent for us to be looking ahead for a potential transition mechanism. People need to engage in this discussion sooner rather than later.”
Govindasamy said the report will have a detailed list of the history of the Australian board, its structure and governance, marketing system, the impacts on value adding and the time it took to implement change between the two systems.
“We want them to make some comparisons to the western Canadian situation.”
The competition to choose the consultant for the Australian study closed Oct.15 and the report is to be done this winter. Once the study is finished, it will probably be made public, he said.
CWB spokesperson Louise Waldman said while no one from the Alberta government has contacted the board about the new study, she is suspicious of any research about the CWB done by the Alberta government.
“The Alberta government, in my opinion, doesn’t have a very good track record of unbiased and objective analysis.
“I can’t imagine the Alberta government undertaking any study that would find anything positive about the single desk marketing system.”By Mary MacArthur
Camrose bureau
news
The Alberta government is launching a $100,000 comparison of Australia’s privatized grain marketing system and Canada’s government-backed grain marketing agency to see if there are benefits to the Australian model.
“If we are going to be making a transition from what is currently a legislative monopoly system to an open market system, as a result of pressures both internally and externally, we thought it would be a good idea to get some good information and hard assessment and analysis on the Australian experience,” said Nithi Govindasamy, a member of Alberta Agriculture’s policy secretariat.
In 1999, the Australian Wheat Board ceased to exist, replaced by AWB Ltd., with two sets of shareholders, growers and investors. The Australian government provides no financial support to AWB Ltd., which is responsible for guaranteeing initial payments. Government legislation gives the company a monopoly on wheat exports.
The Canadian Wheat Board is the monopoly selling agent for all wheat and export barley grown in Western Canada.
For several years the Alberta government has lobbied the federal government to allow farmers to bypass the board when they’re exporting wheat or barley or selling wheat to domestic suppliers.
Earlier this year the Alberta government launched its $400,000 Choice Matters campaign to promote marketing choice. With one dual market supporter on the wheat board’s board of directors and the possible addition of more during this fall’s CWB election, the Alberta government wants good information on how AWB Ltd. works, Govindasamy said.
“We want to primarily look at the Australian experience of grain production, marketing and the deregulation that has taken place. We want to look at their experience to know whether that particular model Australia has followed, whether there’s anything in there that might be useful for us,” he said.
The recent targetting of the CWB by the World Trade Organization as an institution with unfair subsidies is a sign Canadians should be prepared to dismantle the board, he said.
“It’s prudent for us to be looking ahead for a potential transition mechanism. People need to engage in this discussion sooner rather than later.”
Govindasamy said the report will have a detailed list of the history of the Australian board, its structure and governance, marketing system, the impacts on value adding and the time it took to implement change between the two systems.
“We want them to make some comparisons to the western Canadian situation.”
The competition to choose the consultant for the Australian study closed Oct.15 and the report is to be done this winter. Once the study is finished, it will probably be made public, he said.
CWB spokesperson Louise Waldman said while no one from the Alberta government has contacted the board about the new study, she is suspicious of any research about the CWB done by the Alberta government.
“The Alberta government, in my opinion, doesn’t have a very good track record of unbiased and objective analysis.
“I can’t imagine the Alberta government undertaking any study that would find anything positive about the single desk marketing system.”
