Australia's Wheat Growers Must Come First

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile said today that while he was disappointed that the Wheat Australia consortium had not been able to reach agreement on a 350,000 tonne contract with the Iraqi Grains Board he stressed this was never a deal that would be done at any cost.

Mr Vaile said, "The first and foremost consideration must always be the interests of Australia's wheat growers and if this commercial contract cannot reflect that, then the right decision is to wait for another opportunity."

"The Iraqi Government had made it quite clear, during my visit to Baghdad earlier this year, that Australia's reputation as a reliable supplier of quality wheat is second to none and that they wanted to continue to purchase Australian wheat.

"I note the absurd comments from the Shadow Minister for Trade, Kevin Rudd on this matter. Does Mr Rudd honestly believe that the role of Australia's Trade Minister is to force Australian wheat exporters to take on unacceptable commercial risks? Clearly he does not understand the responsibilities of the Trade portfolio which is to open up markets to exporters but not to negotiate contracts on behalf of them.

"I appreciate Wheat Australia's comments where they congratulate the Australian Government for their efforts in securing the ongoing opportunity for Australian wheat growers to tender for the supply of Australian wheat to Iraq.

"The Australian Government remains committed to working with Australian wheat growers to secure long standing markets like Iraq and I would of course hope to see our wheat back in that market soon," Mr Vaile said.

Contact: Mr Vaile's Office 02 6277 7420, Departmental 02 6261 1555, Austrade 02 9390 2701