ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA — Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) announced on Dec. 1 the outcome of an external audit conducted to review the compliance of Viterra Ltd. with its obligations under the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008.

“In light of some of the issues that arose during the 2009-10 marketing year, WEA organized an independent audit of Viterra’s administration of the shipping stem,” said Peter Woods, WEA chief executive officer. “The audit’s conclusions indentified a number of areas for improvement, including tighter administration of excess vessel bookings, more timely cancellation of bookings that are not going to be used and immediate updating of the shipping stem when slots become available.”


Woods said Viterra was cooperative and wants to find opportunities to ensure the shipping arrangements work to the best advantage of all accredited exporters.

The company has agreed to a process of internal review of policies and procedures relating to Viterra Operations Ltd.’s administration of the shipping stem and compliance with the continuous disclosure rules.

“Since taking ownership of the business, Viterra has taken significant steps for the purpose of continuous improvement to our systems for the benefit of the industry as a whole,” said Dean McQueen, Viterra’s executive manager grain.