U.S.S.R. buys Aust. wheat

Press, 28 December 1985, Page 22

U.S.S.R. buys Aust. wheat

PA Melbourne The Australian Wheat Board has announced a 2.5 million-tonne wheat sale to the Soviet Union. The board said that it was one of the biggest single wheat sales made by Australia.

The sale will bring in about half a billion dollars in export revenue over the next six months. It was negotiated by a recent A.W.B. marketing delegation to Moscow.

A.W.B. chairman, Sir Leslie Price, said the sale made the Soviet Union Australia’s main market. “The A.W.B. and the U.S.S.R. have long, had an excellent working relationship, with the U.S.S.R. being one of the A.W.B.’s principal customers for many years,

and this latest contract further highlights the value the Soviets place on the quality of Australian wheat,’' said Sir Leslie.

“The sale again shows the results of the A.W.B.’s marketing plan. There is no doubt that for the AW.B. to have sold more than nine million tonnes — well over half the expected annual sales — within a month of the start of the DecemberNovember selling year is an outstanding achievement," he said.

As a result, the A.W.B. had record shipments of about two million tonnes a month planned for the first five months of 1986, and was now aiming to ship a minimum of 16 million tonnes through the year.