IT MAY be close to 18 months since the wheat industry was deregulated, but the Federal National Party is still burning a candle for the former single desk.
Nationals Senator Fiona Nash said the party had supported the single desk all along, and was concerned that the deregulated environment was proving "a shambles".
Together with fellow Senator John Williams, Sen. Nash urged Aussie wheat growers to lodge a submission to the National Productivity Commission inquiry into wheat marketing arrangements, highlighting their concerns.
The Productivity Commission inquiry will review the operation and the costs and benefits of the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 and the Wheat Export Accreditation Scheme 2008, which came into effect in July last year.
The Nationals pointed to a rally of wheat growers in Canberra earlier in the year lobbying for the re-introduction of the single desk arrangement as proof there was still strong support for an orderly marketing system.
Sen. Williams said there were many growers still upset at the abolition of the single desk, pointing to the decline in wheat prices as a cause for concern.
"Since March last year, the world indicator price of wheat has fallen from a high of $US428 a tonne to $US226 a tonne last month," Sen. Williams said.
The rebuilding of world wheat stocks and the rising Australian dollar are putting downward pressure on the price Australian growers are receiving.
Market analysts have told growers that the single desk would have only had minimal protection against the drop in prices, caused largely by record production over the past two years.
But Sen. Nash said growers were losing confidence in the new selling arrangements, with worries about whether there would be a buyer for their grain.
She said the confusion extended right along the supply chain, with issues surrounding loading export vessels caused by delays.
"The marketing of Australian wheat is a shambles. The uncertainty of where to sell is causing wheat to be stored for longer; there are demurrage charges of boats waiting at sea for extended periods while they wait for a possible load; and there is no strategic targeting of export markets," she claimed.
While the Nationals' senators did not spell out their desire for a return to the single desk, they said their policy was support for a "fair system of marketing in order to maximise returns for the national crop", a key catchphrase of pro-regulation rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Nationals Shadow Minister for Agriculture, John Cobb, has accused the Federal Government of setting the commission up to fail.
Mr Cobb said the submission dates for the inquiry clashed with harvest.
The Productivity Commission Inquiry will receive submissions until November 13 this year, followed by a series of public hearings and roundtables, and the report has to be presented to the Government by July 1 next year.
"Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of the wheat industry in Australia would know that November through to December is the busiest time of year for grain growers with harvest in full swing," Mr Cobb said.
"I can only assume that the Productivity Commission or the Minister’s office knows absolutely nothing about the wheat industry which does not bode well for any recommendations the Productivity Commission may make."
He said the Productivity Commission must delay the cut off dates for written and public submissions until after harvest if the inquiry into wheat export marketing arrangements is to have any credibility.
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