World Grain - October 2012 - 59

PORT NEWS ROUNDUP

Japanese MAFF tender wheat loaded at Kwinana
WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — The ﬁrst wheat tender contract awarded to CBH Grain through the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was loaded in Western Australia (WA) on Aug. 20, CBH said. The inaugural shipment will set off from Kwinana later this week with an estimated 15-day journey to Japan where it will unload at three Japanese ports, Chiba, Keihin and Kashima. CBH Grain Head of Marketing Tom Puddy was at the CBH Group Kwinana Port Terminal as the Soﬁa R was loaded. “The sale was for 35,600 tonnes of MAFF ASW blend wheat, a blend of noodle and premium milling grade wheat, destined for east Japan,” Puddy said. “Japan purchases around 900,000 tonnes of MAFF ASW from WA every year through a regular tender process conducted by MAFF. Only accredited trading houses are allowed to participate in the wheat tender process.” The MAFF accreditation enables CBH Grain, via its Japan ofﬁce to participate in the MAFF wheat tender process and subsequently import wheat directly into Japan. This common style of tender process is used by many countries and works by multiple accredited bidders submitting their bidding price to a central organization and the contract being awarded to the business with the most competitive bid. “Traditionally CBH Grain has joined the regular tender with Japanese trading houses accredited by MAFF to present WA wheat for tender,” Puddy said. “CBH Grain has worked for almost two years to become the ﬁrst WA grain buyer to become accredited under the MAFF system and now has direct access to offer wheat to the Japanese market through MAFF tenders.

Group makes progress on port access code of conduct
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Grain Trade Australia said that during its meeting on Aug. 23 the Conduct Development Committee (CDC) reached agreement on key issues. “Cooperation across all sectors of the Australian grain industry has been a feature of the activities of the Port Access Code of Conduct Development Committee (CDC),” said the Committee Chairman Tom Keene. In February 2012, industry formed the CDC to facilitate the development of a port access Code of Conduct. The development of a Code is in line with recommendations of the Productivity Committee and the government’s response. The CDC consists of established port owner/operators, Australian Grain Exporters Association (AGEA), Grain Producers Australia (GPA), National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) and Grain Trade Australia (GTA). “The common interests of our industry outweigh the points of difference and I am encouraged by the CDC cooperative approach to issues that affect all grain industry participants,” Keene said. Keene said a sub-committee of the CDC would meet to discuss some of the ﬁner details around the voluntary code. “The CDC has made good progress in many areas and what is really encouraging is that all parties remain engaged in constructive and good faith discussions on the key issues,” he said. “It is anticipated that further constructive progress will be made over the next two months with the objective for CDC to release a draft for public review later in the year with a ﬁnal document to be sent to the Minister in early 2013.”

USGC urges Japan to launch port expansion project
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S. — The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) delivered a letter of request to the Japanese Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) Kunihiko Muroi, advising for an early launch of the Ministry’s project to expand its ports to accommodate Post-Panamax class vessels, USGC said on Aug. 16. Japan is the largest export market for U.S. corn and among the top for other U.S. agricultural products. The expansion of Japan’s import capacity is crucial for expanding U.S. markets and would also reduce transportation costs. This added capacity will also become increasingly important when the Panama Canal expansion is completed in 2014. Panamax vessels generally have an overall length of 950 feet and width of 106 feet, but their size is limited by the length and width of the available lock chambers, by the depth
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of the water in the Canal, by and the height of the Bridge of the Americas. In November, the council visited the Port of Kushiro, Japan’s largest port facility. The Port is located in Hokkaido, the heart of Japan’s major dairy producing area. They met with Dr. Tetsuya Hayakawa, the director of MLIT’s Kushiro Port Ofﬁce, who explained that the port was selected by MLIT as one of the eight ports designated to undergo a massive expansion in an effort to remain competitive internationally, by handling larger ships with a faster distribution process. The council’s request to expand Japan’s ofﬂoading capacity is the ﬁrst of its kind from an overseas organization, according to MLIT. The council is eager for Japan to begin accommodating larger vessels, as it ensures the Japanese will continue to be a reliable consumer of U.S. agricultural commodities.
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World Grain - October 2012

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