CBH takes growers to SE Asia market place

Next Tuesday, eight growers will set off with CBH destined for South East Asia for a 10 day tour of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore, aimed at bringing growers closer to the customers and end-users of their grain.

CBH is dedicated to providing growers with a first-hand insight into the international market place for WA grain. Growers attending the tour will get the unique opportunity to understand the local grain quality requirements for specific end products and learn about South East Asian consumption trends and demands.

Tour participants Brad Collins, Morawa, Jim Heal, Three Springs; Gary Manning, Yerecoin, Mick Caughey, Merredin, Lindsay Tuckwell, Kondinin, Tim Bock, Jerramungup, Anthony Smith Bremer Bay and Neville McDonald, Esperance will make the trip with CBH staff and Directors.

South East Asia is CBH’s largest export market, accounting for about a quarter of CBH sales from the 2011-12 season across all grains, with wheat being the main commodity traded into the region.

Over the last 5 years the region’s increase in wheat imported from Australia has been phenomenal. In 2007-08 the region imported around 2.98mmt of Australian wheat and in the 2011-12 season this figure had grown to 11.08mmt, with Indonesia importing a record 4.29mmt last season. 

These figures show the importance of this region as a home for WA grain so it is crucial that we take growers to the market place to assist them in understanding the local requirements for grain quality, specifically for the flour milling industry, where much of the wheat goes.

Last season alone CBH engaged and sold grain to more than 50 new customers from South East Asia and this number is expected to grow again this year. On the tour we will be visiting some of our key customers including Malayan Flour Mills in Kuala Lumpur and Indofood’s Bogasari Flour Mill in Jakarta, two of the largest mills in South East Asia.

The tour group will also get to visit one of the Interflour mills, Prestasi in Jakarta, part of the Interflour Group, CBH’s joint venture with the Salim Group. The tour participants will also get to spend a day on the ground visiting the end-users that buy flour from the mills including local bakeries and manufacturers, providing the growers a great feel for the whole supply chain from the mills to the shop front. The trip will conclude with the Global Grain Asia conference in Singapore.