Durum growers delivering their grain to AWB National Pool are encouraged to do so early, as AWB International will again close durum pools on the Guaranteed Access Dates (GAD’s) for the 2005/06 season.

AWB International introduced this initiative last year to provide certainty to AWB National Pool on both the tonnages and quality profile of the durum pools.

AWB National Pool Manager, David Johnson, said this allowed AWB to capture early sales and marketing opportunities and create value for the Durum pool participants.

“This knowledge assists in marketing the crop in the window before the Northern Hemisphere crop quality and tonnage is discovered from July, and allows us to get price coverage for the total crop if appropriate,” Mr Johnson said.

“In turn, this initiative will allow AWB to pay out the 2004/05 Durum Pool in January 2006, a full quarter ahead of bread wheat pools. By putting this initiative in place for this season, we hope to be in a position to do the same for the 2005/06 Pool,” Mr Johnson said.

For more information, growers can contact their regional office or the AWB Grower Service Centre on 1800 054 433. A complete list of Guaranteed Access Dates is available on the AWB website, www.awb.com.au.

Guaranteed Access Dates – major durum port zones