Strong results for first CBH Flexi-starter pool

The CBH Group has delivered market-beating results to participants of its first Flexi-starter pool, outperforming the average of the best available cash prices by up to 4.5 per cent.

The Flexi-starter pool was made available for the first time in June 2018, allowing participants to contract their wheat early in the growing season and adjust contracted tonnes within a nominated timeframe, providing growers the flexibility to adapt to seasonal conditions.

The Flexi-starter pool was finalised in April, with remaining equity paid to participants.

The pool delivered solid results across all grades, with a particularly strong result for Australian Standard White (ASW) wheat, which made up the majority of pool tonnes in the 2018/19 season.

In the Esperance Zone, the Flexi-starter pool outperformed the average of the best available cash prices for ASW over the pool marketing period by more than $14.80 per tonne, or about 4.5 per cent.

The outcome was similar in the Geraldton, Albany and Kwinana zones, where the pool return exceeded the average cash price for ASW over the pool’s lifespan by $12.80 - $14.50 per tonne.

The Flexi-starter pool also delivered strong results for Australian Premium White (APW) graded wheat, with returns outperforming equivalent cash prices by up to $11.40 per tonne.

Structured Commodity Products Manager Paul Smith said the co-operative was pleased with the outcome for participants of the Flexi-starter pool in its first year on offer to growers.

“By leveraging off the strength of the CBH marketing network and implementing sound risk management strategies, the pool has delivered participants a market-beating result, and we’re really pleased to deliver such a strong outcome for our growers,” Mr Smith said.

“The aim of the CBH Flexi-starter is to allow growers to diversify their price risk earlier in the growing season by participating in both pre-harvest and post-harvest markets, while delivering some flexibility to manage production risk and adjust to the season.

“It’s a smart way to diversify your grain marketing portfolio to produce a more consistent result each year.”

Growers will have access to the 2019/20 CBH Flexi-starter pool in June 2019.

For more information please visit: www.cbh.com.au  

NOTE: Pool performance figures mentioned include a zone-average quality increment by grade for each zone. Cash comparisons are generated using independent third-party published price data.