Australian exports of wheat in containers and bags are said to have risen by 500 per cent since August 2007 when the industry was deregulated, reports the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Figures from the Export Wheat Commission show that around 360,000 tonnes of wheat have been exported from the country in the past four months, up from 58,000 tonnes exported in the same period a year ago.
Another reason for the spike in containerised wheat has been surging bulk freight rates, making it more cost-effective to ship such exports by container.
"There is a large disparity between the cost in exporting in bulk compared with containers and certainly we've published that disparity in our report," said Export Wheat Commission chief Peter Woods.
"It is significantly cheaper to send containers from Australia to Asian markets than it is to send bulk wheat to those same markets," he said.
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