GrainCorp’s new CEO Robert Spurway says it’s important for the Australian government and MOFCOM (People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Commerce) to reach an outcome that is much more favourable than the threat of damaging tariffs being applied to Australian barley amid increased trade tensions between Canberra and Beijing.

“Ultimately we want to see an outcome that avoids tariffs because that’s not great for our growers, even though the direct impact on GrainCorp is not all that significant in the short term,” Mr Spurway tells Brooke Corte.

“China has been, and is, and we expect will continue to be an important part of our business and an important market that we trade with,”

Following the demerger of its malt business into the separately listed United Malt and the sale of its Australian Bulk Liquid Storage business, GrainCorp reported a hefty increase in underlying net profit to $58 million, a significant turn around from last years net loss of $48 million.

Click Play to hear the full interview with GrainCorp CEO Robert Spurway and Brooke Corte: