THREE major grain trading companies could lose their rights to export wheat from next week if they fail to guarantee rivals access to their ports, the competition regulator ACCC warned yesterday.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said that CBH, Graincorp and ABB Grain could lose their export accreditations if they did not make acceptable access arrangements by next Thursday, The Australian Financial Review reports today.
The three are among the biggest and most established wheat exporters and if their export rights were revoked, it would leave a huge hole in the market just as farmers are preparing for what could be the biggest wheat harvest in years. It would also wreak havoc on shipping schedules and export plans.
When the ACCC rejected the companies' initial proposals in early August, chairman Graeme Samuel criticised the lateness of their submissions, saying they had known of the deadline since March 2008 and that the delays made the regulator's job difficult.
Yesterday, in three further rulings, each about 300 pages, the ACCC reinforced its view that the companies had not guaranteed rivals fair access to infrastructure.
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