WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — The CBH Group said on April 22 that it has been working with key industry leaders and grain marketers, in developing a set of standards for pool operation to be included in a broader industry code of conduct.

CBH Group General Manager Marketing and Trading Jason Craig said CBH had been in discussion with Plum Grove, Gavilon, GrainCorp and Cargill for some time to develop a code of conduct, which will provide a minimum set of guidelines for all pools across Australia.

"It is about the industry taking proactive steps to put in place an expected level of conduct so that we don't see growers end up in a similar situation to what some are currently facing or with pools being a heavily regulated product adding significant costs to management fees," said Craig. "We firmly believe providers must be held accountable for the management of any product they offer to growers and growers should be able to trust that their grain marketer will effectively be able to manage their pool investment.

"Pool providers need to be acting in the best interests of the pool participants by having the pool account clearly separated from other trading accounts within the business. They must also have a clear governance structure in place to manage pool risk and compliance."

The draft code of conduct has been provided to Grain Trade Australia for review and the CBH Group anticipates the code will be finalized in the next few months, ready for the upcoming harvest.