FEATURE Further reform recommended A ustralia's Productivity Commission, the government's independent research and advisory body, published its examination of the success and failures of the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 in late October. Its findings lean heavily towards those that favor further deregulation of the Australian wheat industry, which accounts for some 3% of global production but around 12% of world exports. Its recommendations have not been universally welcomed. FROM THERE TO HERE First to recap: On July 1, 2008 the Wheat Export Marketing Act entered into force and ushered into being a new era of competition between Australian exporters. It removed AWB International Ltd.'s monopoly over bulk wheat exports and created a transitional regulatory system to monitor competition in the sector. (Above) the CBH Group exports wheat through its terminal at the western Australian Port of Albany. Photo courtesy of CBH Group. 34 by Michael King Australia's Productivity Commission releases report that says more deregulation of the country's wheat industry is needed The move was widely applauded: the single desk system had gradually been stripped of its defenders over the previous decade. Mortal wounds were inflicted by a National Competition Policy Review which found in 2000 that the system offered no clear benefits for the marketing of wheat abroad. The successful deregulation of export systems for other grains had also undermined arguments in favor of monopoly. An inquiry in 2006 into AWB's role in the United December 2010 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.comhttp://www.World-Grain.com