Viterra’s first shipment of 2022/23 season South Australian growers’ grain bound for international markets has set sail from its Thevenard port terminal.
The 24,000 tonne cargo of wheat kicks off the record breaking seven million tonnes of forward shipping booked for grain delivered into the Viterra network.
Viterra Chief Operations Officer, James Murray says Viterra has also seen another record broken with 18 exporters booking forward shipping this season.
“To break two export records for our grower customers this season is fantastic, and really shows the industry’s confidence in our network and demand for the grain within it,” James says.
“In total we have over 45 buyers in our system, and so far this season, 23 are posting prices and/or have bought grain.”
Exporters have also requested to book 27 million tonnes of shipping capacity over the next five years from Viterra’s ports demonstrating the reputation of South Australian grain and giving growers confidence in future opportunities when delivering their grain to Viterra.
James says Viterra’s focus on offering an efficient service to its buyer customers provides value to all participants in the supply chain.
“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.
“This is a positive for our grower customers as it means more demand and increased competition for their grain when they deliver into Viterra.”
Included in the 18 exporters is Brahman Commodities and Commex International.
Brahman Commodities Senior Trader, Tim Bickford says Viterra is a quality operator who they can trust to complete the job.
“I have confidence in Viterra’s operations. They are forward thinking, well planned and practical in their approach, when you need them they are there ready to help providing efficient solutions,” Tim says.
“We look forward to continuing to work with Viterra in the long-term and expanding the ports we export from.”
Commex International Director, Awny Shokry says with Viterra’s assistance, their business was able to move from containers to bulk exports.
“Viterra provides an efficient service with a team you can contact directly for support,” Awny says.
“We are looking to continue to expand our business and the amount we export and work with Viterra as we do so.”
As deliveries into the Viterra network have increased, James says the business has been able to utilise its close relationships with its buyer and end use customers to benefit local growers.
“We have continued to review grower requirements this harvest and in response have made changes to our dynamic binning service and introduced additional segregations, including non-standard grades at sites,” James says.
“These changes offer our grower customers opportunities to receive higher value for their grain and are the result of working with our buyer and end use customers to determine market demand.”
Across Viterra’s sites, growers have already been delivering barley, wheat, lentils, peas, canola and faba beans, and the business is well prepared for the increase in deliveries once the weather improves.
“Our sites and our people are ready to go. We work with growers year-round and we will continue to do that during harvest with a focus on providing a valuable and efficient service during one of their busiest times of year,” James says.