World Grain - December 2010 - 41

FEATURE: FURTHER REFORM RECOMMENDED

THE CONFERENCE

Join flour millers and grain processors from
across Europe and beyond to learn about
the latest developments in flour milling,
grain processing, grain and finished
product storage and handling solutions.
The German Millers Association will welcome
grain industry delegates to a full day of
technical presentations. Topics will include:

x

Long term preservation of high moisture
grain under European conditions

x

HEALTHGRAIN - results and perspectives

x

Trends in grain milling: Relevance and
technical solutions

x

How twin screw extrusion faces health and
environmental challenges of grain
processing industries

x

Raw material to finished products: a case
study of different NIR Spectroscopy applied
in a bakery food production company

Early registration discounts end
December 31, 2010!
(Online registration required
to guarantee your place)

www.feedconferences.com
Gold Sponsor

Media Partner

appropriate time frame for this to occur."
She added: "AGEA will work through the implications of
the Commission's report and continue to promote a framework that will ensure that there is fair access to port terminal
services to enable Australian wheat to be shipped to customers
around the globe."
MOVING FORWARD
While the Commission's findings are clear, what happens
next is less so. As World Grain went to press, no one was entirely certain what action the minority Labor government would
take now that the Commission's report was in the public arena.
"It is up to the government if and when they firstly respond
to the report, and then if and when they decide to change the
legislation," said one regulatory source.

"The process of reform needs to continue if the
Australian grains industry is to capture efficiencies and become more competitive."
- GrainCorp CEO Alison Watkins

A spokesman for GrainCorp said there was no constitutionally mandated timeframe for action. "It is even possible that
the government simply accepts the report and nothing comes
of it," he said. "This happened to the three previous reports
done by the Productivity Commission into wheat marketing,
all of which were anti the single desk, none of which led to the
end of the monopoly.
"The Minister will make a formal response at some time.
It is highly likely that the Minister will seek to sit down and
consult with a number of players about 'the next step.'"
GrainCorp would like that next step to be the convening of
a roundtable of accredited bulk wheat exporters to advise the
government on implementation of the reforms proposed by
the Commission.
"The process of reform needs to continue if the Australian
grains industry is to capture efficiencies and become more
competitive," said Watkins.
"This (roundtable) process should report back to the Minister by the end of March 2011. GrainCorp believes this will
be the most effective way of delivering a tangible outcome
from the good work done by the Commission during this very
thorough and insightful inquiry."
Michael King, a freelance journalist and editor, has been writing about
shipping, transport and commodities for more than a decade. Currently
based in Indonesia, he can be reached at Michael@borderline.eu.com.

We want to hear from you - Send comments and inquiries to worldgrain@
sosland.com. For reprints of WG articles, e-mail reprints@sosland.com.
For more information, see Page 78.

42

December 2010 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
http://www.feedconferences.com http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - December 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of World Grain - December 2010
