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Bunge gains Australian wheat export licence

Wed Oct 22, 2008 10:30pm EDT

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SYDNEY, Oct 23 (Reuters) - U.S. agribusiness group Bunge Ltd (BG.N) has won a licence to export Australian wheat, the government's wheat industry regulator said on Thursday.

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Wheat Exports Australia (WEA) said the licence was one of three new ones granted as it continues to assess applications.

Australia's wheat export industry was opened to competition on July 1 following the stripping of AWB Ltd's (AWB.AX) 60-year old monopoly after the company was found to have made illicit payments to Iraq's former government of Saddam Hussein to boost sales.

WEA has now licenced 19 companies to export wheat.

The two other to gain the new licences were Queensland Cotton Corp, a unit of Singapore-listed commodities trading group Olam International Ltd (OLAM.SI), and privately owned Emerald Group Australia.

AWB, which has restructured since the scandal, has also previously been awarded a licence, as has U.S. commodities giant Cargill Group [CARG.UL]. (Reporting by Bruce Hextall)

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