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Panel targets the costs and conflicts over wheat’s single desk
19 Oct 2004
Andrew Lindberg, managing director of AWB International said that the 2004 Wheat Marketing Review Panel’s examination of Australia’s "single desk" wheat export system highlighted the need for greater independence between AWBI and AWB Limited at board level, as well as at corporate and operational level. The panel found there was a potential conflict between the interests of maximising returns to the National Pool and the interests of B Class (non-wheat grower) shareholders. Lindberg said, though, that the panel report explicitly stated that AWBI and AWB Limited did not need to be separated. "The AWB Limited’s already well advanced in looking at some of those issues... So the direction of the panel is very complementary to where we’re already heading." The panel also recommended refinements to the method of determining AWB Limited’s base fee, suggesting that there should be some linkage to costs rather than the gross pool value.
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