Press Release

West Australian wheatgrowers should not allow themselves to be influenced by a scare campaign being waged against wheat deregulation, the Pastoralists and Graziers’ Association warned this week.

PGA President Rob Gillam said talks with Wheat Exports Australia CEO Peter Woods this week had confirmed that companies granted WEA licenses to export Australian wheat complied with some of the strictest credit standards in the world.

“WA opponents of wheat deregulation – including those now marketing and pooling WA wheat themselves - have been in the Media warning growers against selling their wheat to private traders.”

“However details discussed this week with Wheat Exports Australia have confirmed that the 20 organisations, licensed through WEA to export Australian wheat, are as safe for growers to deal with as anyone in Australia since the Reserve Bank underwriting was withdrawn from the annual wheat harvest.

“Sellers of domestic wheat have also been selling their grain to many of these newly licensed exporters with perfect safety since the domestic wheat market was deregulated some years ago.”

Mr Gillam said PGA Western Graingrowers was impressed by the speed and manner in which Wheat Exports Australia had been set up under new Agriculture Minister Tony Burke and was confident that the newly deregulated wheat industry was already a new benchmark for global wheat trading.