ACCC exempts Port Kembla bulk wheat terminals

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has exempted GrainCorp and Quattro’s bulk Port Kembla wheat terminals from compliance with Parts 3 to 6 of the Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat) Code of Conduct.

The code regulates bulk wheat port terminal service providers to ensure that exporters have fair and transparent access to terminal facilities. Where appropriate, the ACCC may reduce regulation at a specific port terminal by exempting the relevant port terminal service provider from certain provisions of the code.

A position paper issued by the ACCC in October 2015 indicated its intention to exempt the facilities once Quattro’s facility became capable of handling bulk wheat.

“The ACCC’s assessment was that there will likely be a significant amount of spare capacity across GrainCorp and Quattro’s facilities at Port Kembla. This will mean that both parties will have strong commercial incentives to compete to attract customers to use their services,” ACCC Commissioner Cristina Cifuentes said.

In March 2016, Quattro advised the ACCC that it was planning to load its first bulk wheat export vessel by the end of the month.

“The level of competition between GrainCorp and Quattro for bulk export customers at Port Kembla makes these exemptions appropriate.”

The ACCC intends to monitor the level of competition at Port Kembla in the future. Both GrainCorp and Quattro are still required to provide information on their shipping activities at Port Kembla under Part 2 of the code, which will allow the ACCC to monitor issues such as export volumes and market concentration.

Originally published here.