Acting chief executive officer, Peter Woods, says the Wheat Export Marketing Act 2008 has established a new era for Australia's export wheat marketing arrangements by creating the WEA, which will administer the wheat export accreditation scheme (known as the 'bulk scheme').

"Exporters wanting to ship wheat in bulk from Australia will need to apply for accreditation from WEA, which has the power to grant, vary, suspend or cancel that accreditation," Mr Woods said.

Mr Woods confirmed the removal of the Non-bulk Wheat Quality Assurance Scheme and related notification requirements from today for all non-bulk wheat exports from Australia.

Exporters wanting to ship wheat in bulk must be accredited by the new body, by completing and lodging the exporter accreditation application form available on WEA's website (www.wea.gov.au).

Funding of WEA will be provided through application fees under the Bulk Scheme, as well as the Wheat Export Charge applied to all wheat exports from Australia.

Meanwhile, the CBH Group has launched Grain Express to provide a coordinated approach to managing the Western Australian grain supply chain in the new deregulated marketing environment.

It says Grain Express aims to streamline the receival process, offer all growers full marketing options, improve transport utilisation and ensure continued investment in the transport network.

CBH Group CEO, Imre Mencshelyi, said the system has strong support from key stakeholders and will be in place this harvest.

"Grain Express is an industry initiative that provides long term security and viability for the up-country receival and transport network," he said.

Mr Mencshelyi said Grain Express will streamline grower receivals by focusing on the physical delivery of grain and by moving all marketing transactions either via LoadNet, the CBH Group’s secure online portal, or using the Grower Service Centre.

"The new system allows marketers to access and post options at all CBH sites, offering growers a greater marketing choice," he said.

"In addition to this, Grain Express also provides marketers with improved services such as direct control over acquisition activities, more efficient cargo accumulation and simplified costs.

"Another major benefit of this system is the packaging of services to include freight. This guarantees the volume of grain transported on the rail network is maximised and will ensure continued investment in the infrastructure."

Under the Grain Express system, transport, storage and handling services will be managed by CBH Grain Operations on behalf of the industry.