Federal budget: Grain growers call for price inquiry, roads funding

Grain industry leaders are pushing for more funding towards competition in the industry. See how this year’s federal budget fared for the sector.

Grain industry leaders are pushing for more funding towards competition in the grains industry and roads in the wake of the Federal budget announced on Tuesday.

Grain Producers Australia chief executive Colin Bettles said grain prices paid to Australian growers did not match prices paid in the international market, and an inquiry was needed to understand why.

“We’re being told that Australia’s grain is the best in the world, but we’re getting suboptimal prices,” he said.

Grain growers could be losing as much as $50 to $60 per tonne of grain as prices in international markets surged, he said.

As yet, the government has not made a commitment towards an inquiry, and funding was not announced for an inquiry in Tuesday’s budget. Mr Bettles said he would be pushing for a commitment before the election.

“We’re hoping that (the government) see the value in (an inquiry) and being proactive,” Mr Bettles said.

“This was the No. 1 issue at our harvest review meeting.”

Grain Growers Ltd chairman Brett Hosking backed the call for an inquiry.

He said Grain Growers had been calling for an inquiry for about four years, and current price tensions underlined the need for it.

“What we’re seeing with local grain prices and a really big crop, we think now is a time when it’s actually really important that we have a bit of a look, as an industry of what’s going on and what can be done better,” he said.

“We don’t have that transparency of the supply chain, in terms of what the end user is paying for the grain, what the freight component is, and what the port loading component is.

“We’re effectively given a price at the silo, and that’s the information we have to work on.

“The price is only ever as strong as the competition for the grain on that particular day.

“It’s well and truly time that we got the ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) involved and got them to jump in and have a look,.”

GrainGrowers chairman Brett Hosking

ROADS

Grain Growers Australia chairman Brett Hosking said the budget did not deliver for the “first mile” of roads from the farm gate.

“Trucks have grown in size and the volume of grain moving on roads has grown in size, so the task of making sure that road is maintained, and built up to a suitable standard to carry heavy vehicles from that first mile from the farm gate to the local receival point or the farm gate to the nearest major highway is very important,” he said.

The Federal Government announced a $500 million extension of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program, but that money could just as easily be spent on upgrading a community centre as improving roads, Mr Hosking said.

Federal spend:

$500 million extension of the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Program in the 2022-23 federal budget

Farm to port investments including $7.7 million to the Port of Bundaberg in Queensland and $268.8 million to build the New England Highway Bypass to Muswellbrook to help communities get products to port

DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY

Mr Bettles said he was happy with the $1.3 billion the government had announced in funding for improved regional telecommunications, but he was waiting to see more detail.

“What we’re asking for is fast and reliable internet coverage. I think that message has come through loud and clear,” he said.

“There are some welcome announcements and initiatives in the budget… but we still need to see the detail of it.”

BIOSECURITY

The grains industry has welcomed federal funding for biosecurity announced in Tuesday’s budget.

The government has announced funding for on-farm biosecurity, through a three-year $20.1 million grant program.

This commitment comes on top of over $500 million invested in biosecurity since the 2021-22 budget and expected expenditure of over $1.1 billion on biosecurity and export programs in 2021-22.

“We can never do enough. But certainly they’re making the right noise about better protections for biosecurity,” Mr Bettles said.

“The increase in containerised trade is something that concerns us a great deal. And so we want to strengthen (biosecurity) as much as we can, we just don’t want these pests getting into the country to start with.”