The first export shipment of the new season grain crop bound for international markets has set sail from Viterra’s Outer Harbor port terminal.
The 66,000 tonne cargo of South Australian barley kicks off a schedule of 4.5 million tonnes of forward shipping bookings for 13 exporters in the Viterra system. It is closely followed by another 67,000 tonnes of barley loaded at Viterra’s Port Lincoln terminal this week.
Viterra Chief Operations Officer James Murray says there are 40 buyers in the Viterra network ready to purchase new season grain from growers to supply to domestic and international markets.
“This is a great outcome for local growers delivering to Viterra,” James says.
“It reflects the strong demand for South Australian and western Victorian grain delivered to the Viterra network and represents greater options for growers when they choose to sell their grain.”
It follows a strong outturn programme of more than 5.7 million tonnes of grain that headed to 30 countries last season from Viterra’s export terminals.
“We work hard to load vessels quickly and provide a flexible service to our buyer customers. This paired with our food safety and quality management standards means buyers continue to source grain from the Viterra network,” James says.
Meanwhile Viterra has welcomed grain growers as 2021/22 harvest deliveries start to roll in, with growers on the Yorke Peninsula delivering record numbers of lentils.
The 16,400 tonnes of lentils delivered to Viterra’s Ardrossan site on Wednesday 17 November, equating to more than $16 million in value, is the most in a day in the history of Viterra and the state.
“It is an outstanding milestone achieved by growers and is great news for them with grain being a key commodity in our state’s economy,” James says.
“We’re pleased to support growers by helping get their grain into storage as quickly as possible, and then connecting them with local and international markets.
“It’s also a huge credit to our employees who are a critical part of our business. It demonstrates their hard work and preparation to make sure our sites are running efficiently, in addition to our new digital delivery advice we’ve introduced to speed up the delivery process.”
Across Viterra’s sites, growers have already been delivering barley, wheat, lentils and peas, with canola and faba beans starting to come through, and the business is well prepared for the increase in deliveries once the weather improves.
“Our sites are ready to go. We work with growers year around and we will continue to do that during harvest with a continued focus of providing a valuable service during one of their busiest times of year,” James says.
