The ACCC has released a draft determination proposing to grant Cargill Australia Limited’s (Cargill) Port Adelaide port terminal facility exempt service provider status under the Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat) Code of Conduct.

An exemption would mean that Cargill will not be required to comply with Parts 3 to 6 of the code when providing port terminal services at Port Adelaide.

The ACCC considers that as a new entrant Cargill will face significant competitive constraints from competing Port Adelaide port terminal facilities, in particular those services provided by Viterra Pty Ltd. Subsequently, the ACCC considers Cargill will have strong commercial incentives to provide fair and transparent access to port terminal services at its Port Adelaide facility.

The ACCC invites interested parties to respond to these preliminary views, and will consider them prior to reaching a final view. The closing date for submissions is 15 May 2020.

The ACCC’s draft determination is available at Cargill wheat port exemption assessment - Draft determination.

Background

The Port Terminal Access (Bulk Wheat) Code of Conduct commenced on 30 September 2014 and regulates bulk grain port terminal operators to ensure that exporters have fair and transparent access to port terminal services.

Exempt service providers are not required to comply with most of the code’s obligations, including obligations not to discriminate or hinder other exporters when providing access to port terminal services, or to submit port capacity allocation systems for ACCC approval. They are still required to deal with exporters in good faith and publish certain information, including a port loading statement and port loading procedures.