In a bid to bring in dynamism and competition in wheat exports, Australia, the largest producer of wheat in the world, has ended the monopoly of the Australian Wheat Board (AWB0) replacing it with the Wheat Exports Australia (WEA), which would henceforth accreditate wheat exporting companies. It has also expressed its intention to export superior quality wheat to India, which is in short supply in the country.

WEA, a statutory authority independent from the government accredited five wheat-exporting companies – Cargill Australia, Elders Toepfer Grain, Goodman Fielder Consumer Foods, Grain Pool, OzEpulse – since the new law came into being from July 1. After four years of consecutive drought, Australia is expecting a bumber wheat crop to the tune of 23.7 million tonne which would be harvested from October. This is a hefty rise of 82% over the last year production.

?After meeting domestic demand, we are expecting to have an exportable surplus of around 16 million tonne of wheat,? Russell Phillips, general manager, Australian department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, told FE. ?Henceforth, a large number of exporters can sell wheat abroad, provided they fulfill the 17 stringent accreditation norms formulated by the WEA,? he said. Only companies that are accredited are permitted to export wheat in bulk, which bars individuals from export business. Philips also said that applications of few other companies are in the process being accredited.

India had imported 1.6 million tonne of wheat from Australia during 2006-07, almost after a gap of six years. During 2006-07 and 2007-08, the government had procured only 9.2 million tonne and 11.1 million tonne respectively against a target of 15 million tonne. This forced the government to import wheat. India?s wheat procurement in the marketing year that started on April 1 reached an all-time high of close to 23 million tonne. The wheat production during 2008-09 is also expected to reach an all-time high of around 78.40 million tonne, up from 75.81 million tonne in 2007-08.