E-Malt.com News article: 3594

Australia: ABB Grain announced on November 5 it had moved to make the tough decision between going cash or pool easy this harvest by making its Extended Pool for barley even more flexible. ABB executive manager accumulation, Maggie Dowling, said growers would now be able to deliver to the barley Extended Pool (EP), draw down loan funds and still choose to switch across to cash until April.

“It’s about as easy as we can make it for growers. They don’t have to make up their minds immediately about whether to sell for cash or go with the pool, they can deliver to the barley Extended Pool, draw down monies to meet their needs, up to our estimate of the first advance on the Standard Pool, and then change their minds up until April, when we would normally make the first EP distribution.

“If for example decide they would like to take a cash price, they will be able to ring us up and take the cash price that we are offering on the day. “We will then calculate how much to pay growers by taking the cash price and deducting the money we have already advanced them, plus interest to that time,” she said.

In effect ABB is offering growers the ease of a flexible draw down loan without the cost of administration fees. “This really increases the odds for growers, they can have the assurance of delivering into the pool but if they require cash flow between now and April they still have that option open.

“And having delivered to the pool they can still decide how much money they need to have in hand and don’t have to draw down a stipulated amount regardless of whether they need it. This obviously offers considerable savings in interest. “They can draw down as often as they like up to the amount of the first advance on the Standard Pool and still change their minds and swap across to cash before April.”

“Barley growers, especially those in later districts, who want to take advantage of early pool prices can even contract tonnage into the pool at this stage” she said.


05 November, 2004