Fed: Growers welcome protection from competition

AAP General News (Australia)
04-05-2001
Fed: Growers welcome protection from competition

CANBERRA, April 5 AAP - Australian wheat farmers have won a reprieve from national
competition policy in their fight against unfair international competition.

The federal government has rejected a National Competition Council report which would
have opened the nation's monopoly wheat exporter, AWB Ltd, to competition.

It also promised that a review of AWB's control of almost $4 billion in wheat exports
to be conducted in 2004 would not be done within national competition policy guidelines.

AWB chairman Trevor Flugge said the world's grain markets were so corrupted by heavily
subsidised EU and US products that the Australian monopoly was vital.

He said having a single desk with which to sell Australian grain helped protect growers
from unfair competition.

"The single desk for wheat exports allows AWB to manage the quality and delivery of
Australian wheat so that its full value is realised and returned to Australia's growers,"

he said.

"It is therefore important that the system is administered in a way which protects
growers' interests."

Retiring president of the Grains Council, John Lush, said the decision recognised the
reality of world trade.

"(This comes from) the capacity that the single desk gives the Australian wheat industry
to deal with a corrupted international marketplace," he said in a statement.

Agriculture Minister Warren Truss said the government did not support competition for
competition's sake.

AAP sw/jas/sb

KEYWORD: WHEAT DAYLEAD

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