Industry information
Australia’s grains industry occurs across three main growing regions: northern (Queensland and northern New South Wales), southern (southern New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia) and western (Western Australia).
Most of Australia’s grain production is winter crops, which are typically planted in autumn and harvested in late spring or early summer. This includes cereals like wheat, barley, and oats, along with oilseeds such as canola, and pulses including chickpeas and lentils. Summer crops, which are typically planted in spring or summer, make up a small proportion of the industry (typically less than 5%), with key summer crops including sorghum and millet.
A significant proportion of Australian grain production is exported, with Western Australia being the largest grain-exporting state. Major export markets are located throughout Asia and the Middle East. Grains grown for domestic consumption and livestock feed are produced across Australia, with substantial domestic production and usage occurring in the eastern states.
Research and Development
- The Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) is a statutory authority established under the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989 responsible for planning, investing in and overseeing research, development and extension (RD&E) to benefit the grains industry and the wider Australian community.
Industry bodies
- Grain Producers Australia (GPA) and Grain Growers Ltd (GrainGrowers) are the national grower representative organisations for the grain industry, representing the interests of grain growers on national policy and industry matters. As declared representative organisations under the Primary Industries Research and Development Act 1989, GPA and GrainGrowers consult with and provide advice to the GRDC on behalf of grain levy payers.
- Grain Trade Australia (GTA) represents participants along Australia’s grain supply chain, including bulk grain handlers, traders, exporters, processors and significant grain purchasers. GTA seeks to ensure the efficient facilitation of commercial activities across the grain supply chain.
- Australian Oilseeds Federation (AOF) represents the common interests of all Australian oilseed industry participants and promotes the development, expansion and improvement of Australian oilseed production.
- Grains Australia manages trade and market access, classification, market insights, market education and technical market solutions to enhance the competitiveness and profitability of the grain industry.
International bodies
- The International Grains Council (IGC) is an intergovernmental organisation that oversees the Grains Trade Convention and seeks to promote cooperation in the global grain trade. IGC seeks to further international cooperation in grains trade; promote expansion, openness and fairness in the grains sector; contribute to grain market stability; and enhance world food security.
Wheat Port Code of Conduct
To provide regulatory certainty and support a transition to self-regulation, the Australian Government has remade the Wheat Port Code (the code). The remade code commenced operation on 1 October 2026.
The Competition and Consumer (Industry Code—Bulk Wheat) Regulations 2026 set out the code. The code seeks to:
- promote and support good faith in commercial dealings between port terminal service providers and exporters of bulk wheat.
- provide information transparency to wheat export supply chain participants to ensure service transparency for the bulk wheat industry.
The code is regulated by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). As a regulation under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, a breach of the code would be a breach of that Act and may result in serious consequences.
The code is scheduled to sunset (be automatically repealed) on 1 October 2029.
What does the Code of Conduct require participants to do?
The code regulates the behaviours of bulk wheat port terminal service providers and bulk wheat exporters and improves the transparency of port terminal operations.
The code requires port terminal service providers (PTSPs) and exporters (seeking access to, or using, port terminal services for the purpose of exporting bulk wheat) to deal with each other lawfully and in good faith at all times.
The code also requires PTSPs to:
- publish a daily statement about ships due to load at the port (a shipping stem);
- publish standard information about how they allocate capacity and manage demand for their services; and
- publish standard terms and reference prices available to all exporters.
History of the Code
The Wheat Port Code was introduced on 30 September 2014 through the Competition and Consumer (Industry Code-Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat)) Regulation 2014. The code was first reviewed in 2017–18, with the final report for the first review making 12 recommendations. The Australian Government responded to the review in October 2020, supporting 11 of the review’s recommendations. However, the code was not amended at that time to implement the recommendations.
In September 2023, the then Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator the Hon Murray Watt, determined that, given the significant time that had passed since the first review was undertaken, the recommendations may have been out of date, and it was better to commence a second review of the code rather than amend the code to implement potentially outdated recommendations.
A second review of the code was undertaken in 2023–2024. The overall finding of the second review was that the code in its then form was no longer fit for purpose. The review further found that:
- The national market for port terminal services had changed significantly since 2014, which has resulted in an overall increase in competition between PTSPs.
- Parts 3 to 6 of the code were the least fit for purpose. This part of the code may have been acting as a barrier to new PTSPs entering the market, and this perverse outcome outweighed any benefits to exporters and growers in retaining Parts 3 to 6 of the code. Little evidence was provided to demonstrate that there was a market failure in the wheat export supply chain that would require the retention of these provisions.
- The outcomes achieved by Part 2 of the code, including good faith and the provision of information through port loading statements, port loading protocols, and standard terms and reference prices, provided a positive benefit to the wheat export industry.
- There was some evidence that a mechanism was required to ensure PTSPs continued to undertake practices such as publishing port loading statements. The review did not, however, find sufficient evidence to establish that this could only be done by continuing the code, rather than through industry self-regulation.
The review recommended the grain export industry develop self-regulation to replace the code.
The Australian Government response to the second review accepted the overall findings of the review and agreed that industry should transition to self-regulation. To provide regulatory certainty and support a transition to self-regulation, the Government remade the code in a streamlined format with the code to remain in place for 3 years.
Reports
Report on the first review of the Wheat Port Code
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Report on the second review of the Wheat Port Code
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