GROWERS will be able to market grain warehoused with GrainCorp through the Clear online trading platform due to a software integration agreement between the companies.
It is seen as an important step for Clear, which launched its grain exchange platform last harvest, providing crucial liquidity to its market, and is a value-adding proposition for GrainCorp as it attempts to attract more grain into its network.
The deal will eliminate the need for growers to deliver their grain across to Clear if they wish to market their grain on its trading exchange.
They will be able to market the grain on the Clear site while it remains warehoused in their name in the GrainCorp system.
“The major benefit for growers will be the streamlining – it’s going to be an easy, seamless experience without any roadblocks,” said Clear consultant, Sarah Scales (pictured).
“It will be easier for growers to put their grain on offer with Clear – they will be able to access the GrainCorp portal and see their stocks according to site and by grade and then they can hit a link which puts across to the Clear website, where they can see where the market sits and place a selling bid based on that.”
From the GrainCorp perspective, it will give an added marketing edge to grain warehoused in its system and potentially boost deliveries.
“The system integration provides another marketing alternative for growers and considerably enhances the value of warehousing grain at GrainCorp sites,” said GrainCorp managing director, Mark Irwin.
“If a grower chooses to warehouse at a GrainCorp site this harvest they now have two new grain marketing alternatives, GrainCorp Warehouse Cashflow, and the Clear grain exchange, to add to the existing marketing methods: grain pools, forward contracts, and cash.”
The two companies hope the integrated system will “go live” by October, in time for this season’s harvest.
They claim the deal will also be good news for grain buyers – meaning there is a one-stop access to a large amount of warehoused grain.
Ms Scales suggested it could also be easier for accumulators to place bids on Clear in real time, rather than post a cash price, which cannot be altered for the day, which in times of volatility can be a disadvantage.
“It’s going to mean a significant uplift in liquidity in the Clear platform, and rather than using potentially cumbersome bid posts, buyers may choose to have automatic prices posted for each site – either customised or based on a port price with Grain Trade Australia (GTA) freight rates deducted for the specific site,” Ms Scales said.
She said there were two reasons growers would deliver to the GrainCorp system – better logistics and better access to markets – and this move delivered another marketing option.
Mr Irwin said the deal was an example of the new innovative approach to marketing following wheat’s deregulation.
Ms Scales stressed the two companies remained independent.
“This isn’t an alliance or a joint venture, it is a software integration that makes a lot of sense for both parties.”
She said she thought it was an idea Australia’s other major bulk handlers would both look at closely.
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