AWB Ltd, the Australian wheat exporter caught up in the oil for food scandal in Iraq, will survive losing its position as the monopoly wheat exporter.
That at least is the view of its chief executive officer, Gordon Davis.
A new grower-controlled, single desk wheat exporter will take over from AWB next year.
This change is as a result of AWB having been found to have paid Saddam Hussein's regime about $300M in bribes.
AWB's export arm, AWB International, could still regain full control of the single desk if grower lobby groups cannot form a new desk structure by March next year.
Mr Gordon said AWB began weaning itself off income from the single desk some time ago.
"When the company was privatised in 1999, 100 per cent of its income was from managing the single desk."
He said the aim had been to reduce this to 20% by 2010.
However, not everyone is convinced by AWB's publicly stated change of purpose.
Liberal backbencher Sophie Mirabella has AWB of trying to blackmail an Australian grain company.
Ms Mirabella has told parliament the grain company Silo Bags developed a revolutionary way of handling storing and trading grain around the world.
She says the AWB saw this innovation as a threat to its lucrative market, and tried a boorish takeover which Silo Bags knocked back.
Ms Mirabella says that the unethical vultures of the AWB have now forced the smaller company onto the sidelines, with blackmail and legal manoeuvres.
Seemingly, AWB has some PR issues that it needs to address!
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