Based in part on the forecast that demand for grain from Asia will increase by 11 million tons over the next five years, Western Australia cooperative CBH has established an office in Portland, Oregon with the aim of buying grain from the U.S. and Canada to sell to its customers in Asia as well as to form relationships with U.S. industry giants trying to gain a foothold in Australia – arranging “swaps of liquidity”, offering greater access in Australia in exchange for access to U.S. ports. Last year CBH was the first Australian trader to gain accreditation from Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Fisheries to import grain directly into Japan – this will allow CBH to be the first Australian company to trade U.S. wheat through the MAFF tender system.
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