| Australian Wheat Board |
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AWB Limited () is the Australian company that oversees the exports of grain, particularly wheat. The AWB was a government body known as the Australian Wheat Board until 1 July 1999 , when the AWB was transformed into a private company, owned by wheat growers. On 22 January 2001 , AWB was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange. The AWB was and remains the "single Desk" for the sale of Australian wheat. The principle of the ''single desk'' is to prevent Australian farmers from being played off against each other by large corporate customers/grains traders. Of particular concern to farmers are the large US conglomerates, like ConAgra Foods & Cargill . AWB represents all Australian wheat on the world market, hoping to achieve a higher/more stable average sales price for all farmers than would be achieved if they were each competing to sell their own wheat to the same small number of large customers/grains traders. As part of this, all wheat of a given grade is pooled, and farmers are paid in several stages according to the proportion of the pool that has been sold, rather than being paid in full only when their particular shipment of grain is sold. AWB's subsidiary businesses include GrainFlow to manage collection of grain from farmers to ports, companies to ship the grain overseas to customers, and Landmark rural services. HISTORY OF THE BOARD The AWB was founded in the late 1930's, to regulate the wheat market after the excesses of the Great Depression . The ''single desk'' dates to this period. The Canadian Wheat Board was initially modelled on the Australian Wheat Board. CORPORATE STRUCTURE AWB Limited is a holding company owning a number of subsidiaries. Its shareholding is divided into two classes: class A and class B. Ownership of class A shares is restricted to currently active wheat growers; they are non-transferrable, and must be ceded upon the cessation of wheat-growing operations. Class B shares are freely traded on the Australian Stock Exchange , with the proviso that no one individual or entity may control more than 10% of all class B shares. The company's constitution provides for 7 directors elected by class A shareholders, two directors elected by class B shareholders, with a further two directors to be appointed by the directors elected by class A shareholders. Thus, the class A shareholders are ensured control of the company. AWB Limited has a number of subsidiaries. Some of these subsidiaries exist due to legislative requirements relating to the operation of the single desk; others exist for the purpose of controlling credit risk. As of early 2006, they are:
OIL FOR FOOD SCANDAL Previously a low profile organisation, the AWB made headlines in late 2005 when it was alleged that it had knowingly paid kickbacks to the Iraq Government, defrauding the UN and violating sanctions. At the insistence of the Iraq government of dictator Saddam Hussein , the AWB agreed to pay 'transportation fees' of around $ AUD 290 million. At the same time, the price per ton paid from the UN Oil-for-Food Program was raised by an amount slightly above the 'transportation fees'. The government-appointed Cole Inquiry into the company's role in the scandal is underway as at April 2006 and is likely to extend until May or June 2006. There is great political sensitivity surrounding the payments to Saddam Hussein's regime, given Australia's contribution to military action against Hussein in the 2003 Invasion Of Iraq . Andrew Lindberg resigned as managing director on 9 February 2006 and from the board of directors on 22 February 2006 over this. [http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/31346F10-8C19-458D-8DC9-8C45C850FA7A.htm The Oil-for-Food program UN resolution 986 was passed on 1995-04-14 and the program ran from late 1996 until 2003-03-20 . EXTERNAL LINKS
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