E-Malt.com News article: 2592

Australia: New South Wales' barley market has taken an early step towards open competition following the NSW Government's approval of GrainCorp's plan to allow licenses for the domestic trading of malt barley, Ezigrain posted on April 28. However GrainCorp, which holds vesting rights on barley grown in New South Wales (NSW), will not be changing arrangements for export barley sales, which will continue to be regulated until the scheduled sunset in October 2005. The initiative follows GrainCorp's introduction of a permit for export canola and sorghum last year.

GrainCorp managing director Tom Keen said domestic malt barley permits would create a cash market for malt barley in NSW and offer malt houses and traders to service the 100,000 tonne market. "This will provide more real competition with all the associated benefits," he said. "It will also have the effect of removing the incentive to deliver malt barley as feed barley by creating an active cash market for both feed and malt barley.

"In turn this should increase the supply of malt barley to service the premium markets, both export and domestic, and thus increase the overall returns to grain growers." Mr Keen said importantly the decision to issue licences would also provide NSW growers with experience in marketing their malt barley for the first time before barley deregulation in the 2005/06 harvest," he added.

All grain buyers would be able to obtain Authorised Buyer Agreements for both malt and feed barley. This would allow a buyer to purchase all grades of barley for a fee of $1.50 a tonne which would be payable to the NSWGB (the vesting rights of NSWGB were acquired by Grainco and became GrainCorp's following it's acquistion of the Queensland bulk handler last year).

Authorised buyers of malt barely will not be allowed to deliver NSW barley to a malt house unltess the malt house holds a valid permit.

All malt houses will be able to obtain an oper permit to purchase NSW barley for delivery to any malt house. with malt houses paying a $5 per tonne permit fee to GrainCorp for each tonne of NSW barley received up to 30 September 2005. This fee is in line with the current domestic licence and export permit fees.

SA based grain handler and trader AusBulk, which became Australia's largest maltster last year through the acquisition of Joe White Maltings, is likely to be one of the first to apply for a licence.


04 May, 2004