In late February, Viterra hosted the Premier of South Australia (SA), Peter Malinauskas at its Wallaroo terminal.
As part of the visit, Viterra explained how the business is moving the record state crop harvest to a record number of exporters on behalf of SA growers.
Also in attendance were Minister for Trade and Investment Nick Champion and Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Clare Scriven.
Viterra Executive, Damian Fitzgerald, who accompanied the Premier and ministers at Wallaroo, says the visit also provided the opportunity to talk about the importance of the SA grain industry to the state economy and the great news the 2022/23 season has been for growers.
“Two of our experienced Wallaroo Terminal Operators, Brad Smyth and Gavin Hicks, spoke to the Premier and Ministers about local operations. They provided a great level of detail on how growers deliver into our sites, and how we classify the grain on arrival and obtain its quality before moving it to export markets.”
Damian also provided background about the bumper harvest including the value of the crop, what Viterra has received into their network and how it is being exported. He also spoke about the strength of Viterra’s supply chain and the benefit that brings to SA growers through more competition for their grain.
Taking to his social media channels after the visit, the Premier said:
“Regional South Australia is an important economic contributor and employer for our state.
Today, I visited major grain handler Viterra Australia in Wallaroo which predicts this year’s season could result in an even bigger yield after it received more than 8.8 million tonnes of grain.
A record-breaking harvest, strong global grain prices and new overseas markets have resulted in one of the best ever seasons for South Australian growers – as the value of this season’s crop is tipped to hit a new high of more than $4 billion.
It's exciting to see this positive news come through for our farmers after dealing with a few challenging years in overseas exports.”