Australia: Deregulation of Western Australian barley export market not to have much impact on prices - analyst

A market analyst says he does not expect the deregulation of the Western Australian barley export market to have much impact on prices, ABC News posted on March, 12.

The State Government has announced the Grain Marketing Act and the Grain Licensing Authority will be scrapped before the start of this year's harvest.

The move will allow barley, lupin and canola traders to deal directly with overseas markets - removing the need to apply for a licence.

Analyst Tony Smith says any impact will be minimal because the industry is not heavily regulated as it is.

"We have been seeing a fair few licences be approved, so there has been a fair amount of competition between the buyers," he said.

"We don't expect a lot of change from that point of view."

18 March, 2009