SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) announced on Sept. 23 that from Oct. 1 the Wheat Export Charge (WEC) will be reinstated to A22¢ per tonne for all wheat exported from Australia.
The WEC is WEA’s main source of funding.
On May 10, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia made the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment Regulation 2012 (No. 1). Section 2 of this regulation reduced the WEC to zero cents per tonne as of May 18.
This was done in preparation for the abolition of the Wheat Export Accreditation Scheme  and WEA under the Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Bill 2012.
Section 4 of the regulation states: “If Schedule 1 to the Wheat Export Marketing Amendment Act 2012 does not commence on Oct. 1, this regulation is repealed.”
As the bill has not passed Parliament and the scheme will not end on Sept. 30, the WEC will be automatically reinstated on Oct. 1.
The WEC applies to all Australian wheat exports (bulk, containers and bags).
Chief Executive Officer of WEA Peter Woods has asked all exporters to ensure that their WEC payment systems and procedures are amended to reflect this change.