THE CBH Group has defended its decision to adjust freight rates from the Metro Grain Centre to Kwinana and claimed the $3.50/t-$7/t hike is a direct reflection of the costs charged to CBH by its rail provider.
Livestock and Rural Transport Association president Grant Robins described the decision as shortsighted and said it backed away from a previous undertaking to keep this rate low when the Metro Grains Centre (MGC) was constructed in Forrestfield as opposed to a Kwinana site.
The association represented a large proportion of transport companies who carried grain and fertiliser for WA growers.
"We have always been able to offer our clients a good deal by carrying their grain one way and returning loaded with fertiliser when it was affordable to deliver to the metropolitan area," Mr Robins said
"We appreciate that CBH is now allowing deliveries straight to Kwinana but with one day notice of which grains can be received, it is impossible to co-ordinate fertiliser bookings as they need to be made up to three weeks in advance.
"Now carriers will have to go to Kwinana empty and return with a load of fertiliser and charge the full rate."
Mr Robins said it was not only inefficient but it would hit CBH shareholders hard in what is turning out to be a very tough year.
CBH operations manager Colin Tutt said the rate rise was part of the transition CBH was making in the interest of growers to provide transparent freight rates which reflected the true cost of using rail to cart grain on certain routes.
"This ensures that the users of this pathway to port pay for the cost of this freight service, unlike previous years where it has been distributed and absorbed as a cost by all growers across the State," he said.
"This is a move that growers have been asking us for so that they are paying for only the freight service they use.
"It should be noted that rail at $7/t is cheaper than any other alternative road option to move grain from MGC to Kwinana.
"We would be happy to engage with members of the Livestock and Rural Transport Association if they believe they can provide a cheaper option to move grain when transportation to Kwinana port is required by CBH.
"In addition, due to the poor season this year, CBH has opened up the Kwinana Terminal for certified grower receivals with zero freight charge.
"Certified grower receivals at the Kwinana Terminal are not limited to a 24-hour notice period, if growers have specific requests for deliveries, every effort will be made to accommodate them so that they can plan these to fit with fertiliser back-loading."
Mr Tutt said it was important to note that this was only one pathway of the entire rail freight network and the CBH Group had kept the overall freight rate increase to less than five per cent this season despite WA facing its second smallest harvest in 20 years.
Owner-operator of the Merredin-based freight company Mason Enterprises (trading as Transplus), Derek Mason was stunned by the price hike.
"It's all well and good when it looks easy to cart in and out of Kwinana, but it's not as easy as they're saying," he said.
"The fertiliser works is closing at around 1pm at the moment because there isn't the supply and demand at this time of the year.
"When we cart straight into Kwinana we need to have a pre-sample taken at the local bin in Merredin and then there's only a certain window of time to get the load to Kwinana and unloaded before that time lapses.
"It's virtually impossible to coincide a fertiliser order which was made three weeks beforehand with a load of grain especially when at the moment they're only accepting barley and canola at Kwinana."
A CBH spokesperson said if growers or carriers could forewarn the Kwinana terminal, CBH would do everything it could to accommodate the delivery regardless of the type of grain.
CBH will also open the Kwinana terminal to wheat deliveries by the end of the week.
