Australian Wheat Exports Almost Double In October

Australian wheat exports in October were almost double year ago levels, the government's new wheat export regulator said on Thursday.

Exports were 400,000mt, up from 274,497 tonnes a year ago, with 8 newly licensed exporters participating in the sales, it said.

Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) licenced 19 exporters under Australia's new wheat
exporting arrangements, effective from July 1, which ended AWB's monopoly position that had existed for more than 60 years.

AWB lost its monopoly after being found to have broken United Nations sanctions against Iraq by paying $222 million in back-handers to Saddam Hussein.

WEA said Australian wheat had been delivered to eight different countries during the September-October period,