After extensive negotiations between the ACCC and CBH, on Tuesday the ACCC accepted a court enforceable undertaking from CBH that ensured greater opportunities for West Australian grain growers and grain marketers to use alternative grain transport services to those offered by CBH.

Following a ruling by the Australian Competition Tribunal in 2013, CBH offered an unbundled grain supply chain service, known as Non Grain Express, to allow grain growers and marketers who used CBH's grain storage and handling services the ability to acquire independent (non-CBH) grain transport services. 

The Non Grain Express service:

• required growers to opt out of the Grain Express service within seven days of the grower delivering each parcel of grain to a CBH receival site;
• was not available at 31 (reduced to 30 in 2015) CBH receival sites which were designated as Grain Express only sites; and
• was priced above the Grain Express service.

The ACCC considered that, in combination, the effect of the Non Grain Express was that growers and marketers would not, except to a limited extent, use the service and acquire grain transport services from a competitor of CBH.

The ACCC considered that CBH's conduct had the likely effect of substantially lessening competition in the West Australian grain transport services market, in contravention of section 47 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.

CBH now runs new services for growers and marketers who use its storage and handling network, and ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the new services and the undertaking offered by CBH would facilitate increased competition between grain transport service providers to the benefit of grain growers and marketers and other participants in the WA grain supply chain.

CBH CEO Andy Crane said while the co-operative didn't agree the service had an adverse effect on competition, he was pleased to have reached an outcome.

"We welcome having reached an outcome which is acceptable to both parties following our understanding of the ACCC's concerns," he said. 

"As a co-operative, our focus has always been and continues to be on operating a low-cost and efficient supply chain for the benefit of Western Australian grain growers."