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Australian government intervenes in Wilmar sugar row

Reuters Published on Thu, Mar 30, 2017 / 11:25 AM GMT+8

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(March 30): The Australian government has made a rare intervention in the country's sugar market, effectively forcing Singapore-listed miller Wilmar International to end a two-year dispute with cane growers in the state of Queensland.

Deputy Prime Barnaby Joyce, under increasing pressure from his right-wing National Party's agricultural base, said late on Wednesday the country would introduce a mandatory code of conduct forcing millers such as Wilmar to allow farmers to choose who sells the sweetener after it has been processed by mills.

The dispute in the world's No 4 sugar exporter began in 2015 when Wilmar, MSF Sugar, owned by Thai sugar giant Mitr Phol , and the Australian unit of Chinese agribusiness Cofco Corp said they would no longer sell supplies of processed sugar through an industry-owned marketing body.