Earlier this month, Viterra hosted Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese and City of Port Lincoln Mayor, Diana Mislov at its Port Lincoln terminal as part of a visit by the Prime Minister to the region.
The Prime Minister and Mayor toured the world-class facility which supported 2.1 million tonnes of grain exports valued at over $1 billion to 25 countries last season.
Viterra Chief Executive Officer ANZ, Philip Hughes, who accompanied the Prime Minister and Mayor at the Port Lincoln terminal, says the visit provided the opportunity to talk about the strong global reputation of grain from South Australia (SA) and how Viterra connects Australian grain with global markets.
“We showcased Viterra’s focus on traceability, quality and food safety, and the value our supply chain brings SA growers – with 45 buyers including 18 exporters who use our network, providing growers more choice when selling their grain,” Philip says.
“We spoke about our role as a significant contributor to the economy through both our grain purchases and annual supply chain investments, which for the 2022/23 season equalled $3.5+ billion to the Australian economy and $1.3+ billion to the SA economy.
“We also discussed our proposal to reinstate rail on the Eyre Peninsula, and its long term economic, social and environmental benefits for local growers and communities, export customers, government and flow on effects for the state.
“We acknowledged the Australian Government’s work in the removal of the tariff on Australian barley exports to China and spoke about the strong demand we expect to see for high quality SA malting barley preferred by maltsers and brewers in China.
“It was an honour to host the Prime Minister and Mayor at Port Lincoln and we thank them for taking the time to visit us. The local team and I really enjoyed meeting and welcoming them to our terminal.”
Speaking at a press conference in Port Lincoln, the Prime Minister described Viterra’s Port Lincoln’s terminal as an “extraordinary” facility.
“It's quite a spectacular view, I can assure you, from the top of one of these grain silos,” Mr Albanese said.
“Exports from here reached $1 billion in the last year. A billion dollars of income to Australia, creating jobs, creating economic activity, boosting regional Australia, but doing something else as well – providing the world with our best-in-class grains.”