Historic wheat shipment ends CBH's 85-year monopoly at Geraldton port

Australia Broadcast Center

18-06-2025

In what is regarded as a sign of growing competition in Western Australia's $10 billion export grain industry, the first shipment of wheat to depart Geraldton independent of the CBH Group sailed last night.
CBH is Australia's largest agricultural cooperative and is WA's main grain handler, exporting most of the state's average annual 16 million tonnes of crop.
For the past 85 years it had exclusively exported grain from Geraldton, 420 kilometres north of Perth.
But after two years of planning, a group of farmers and Andrew Young of Plum Grove Logistics successfully sidelined CBH and loaded 6,800 tonnes of wheat using a mobile conveyor at the Geraldton port.
"There have been several attempts over the past decade, but my understanding is this is the first successful attempt at a trial shipment of wheat [at Geraldton] outside of the CBH system," Mr Young said.
The grain is bound for a flour mill in Indonesia.
The shipment sees Geraldton join other ports such as Albany, Esperance and Bunbury where exports have been conducted independent of CBH.
"This is something that's happening across the industry," Mr Young said.
"It's a common feature on the east coast. There are about 11 mobile loaders operating across the country."
WA exports about 90 per cent of its grain crop through bulk export to more than 30 countries across the world.
The CBH Group is owned by WA growers and has investments along the grain supply chain.
But some farmers are disgruntled at the cost of exporting grain and have turned their eyes to other export pathways.
In a statement, CBH said it was aware of the Plum Grove shipment.
"Our focus is on out-loading last year's crop and maintaining a high level of service to our customers around the world while providing value back to WA growers," the statement read.
"We are also preparing for the upcoming harvest, investing significantly in the network so it can handle increasing crop sizes consistently and sustainably."
Mr Young would not be drawn on the economic outcomes of the Geraldton trial shipment, but said farmers had saved money compared with the usual CBH pathway.
"It's not something that's simple — you have to get your export accreditation, you have to get environmental approvals," he said.
"You have to work with the port authority and they have been very cooperative, but there are issues on a number of fronts managing this sort of exercise."
WA Farmers grains section president Mark Fowler said an injection of competition in the northern end of the grain supply chain and export space was good for WA growers.
"I'm talking about CBH mostly here, but improved transparency, it makes the monopoly work harder. There is more direct pricing of the costs that go into the supply chain. It gives growers access to different markets," Mr Fowler said.
"There's less middlemen potentially and maybe a greater return of value to growers.
"I know of a few cases where those shipments have occurred and the pricing that's been available to growers has reflected that."
Mr Fowler said the state was expected to grow more grain in the coming years, particularly with the collapse of the WA sheep industry.
He said he did not think exports independent of CBH would jeopardise the critical mass of grain needed for it to continue its current service and plans for the future.
"The amount of tonnes we are talking about I don't think are going to be significant enough to undermine what CBH is proposing to do with their reinvestment in the supply chain," he said.
Mr Young said there was ambition within the group of Mid West farmers to export more grain, but the first step was to review the effectiveness of the trial.
"The coming harvest would be a good opportunity, subject to ensuring all things are working well," he said.
"It is a milestone but at the same time there is plenty of work to do to turn it from a trial shipment to something that's more sustainable and provides opportunity for growers in the Geraldton zone."