The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) is calling for an investigation into the grain supply chain after a report found a price irregularity that could mean billions of dollars in losses to farmers.
NFF CEO Tony Mahar said the Federal Government needed to respond immediately by instigating an inquiry through the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) or similar following a report by GrainGrowers.
“These are mind boggling losses that could run into the billions for wheat alone,” he said.
“At a time of increasing market concentration across agricultural supply chains, Australian farmers need certainty that no one is using this market power to increase profit at the expense of family farms.
“Given the impact this could have on farmers and the supply chain, nothing short of an in-depth investigation will do.”
The anomalies have been found in the 2021-22 grain and oilseed market season.
“We need to understand and address what’s happening to prevent further economic fallout and impacts on farmers’ bottom line.
“I hate to think what could happen to farming families if this isn’t addressed swiftly.
The NFF has echoed GrainGrowers call for the investigation to encompass the entire grains supply chain, from farm gate through to export and domestic channels including identifying bottlenecks and other barriers for trade participants.
“Our goal to become a $100 billion industry by 2030 strongly relies on our grains sector, so we need to pull every lever to investigate and identify ways the industry can grow to benefit our farmers, our economy and our trading partners.”
Stacey Davidson