The largest vessel ever to be loaded by Glencore Agriculture in South Australia has helped kick off the state’s 2017/18 grain exports.
The Adriana Rose is being loaded with 74,000 tonnes of wheat and barley at Viterra’s Port Lincoln terminal this week.
Simon Gellert, Glencore Agriculture’s Senior Wheat Trader, said the mix of old and new season grain is headed to the Middle East.
“The cargo has been sourced from Eyre Peninsula growers and is headed to three destinations in the Middle East,” Simon said.
“Putting together such a large vessel with more than one commodity is a great benefit to growers because it helps create freight efficiencies.
“Some of this grain is headed to a customer we hosted in South Australia in July, where they got to see firsthand the efficiency, reliability and high level of quality control delivered through the Viterra supply chain.
“In a highly competitive market where customers can source grain from anywhere in the world, it is important to show we can meet the increasingly high standards required by end-use markets.”
Simon said Glencore Agriculture was one of Australia’s largest grain exporters and could connect growers with over 30 destination markets worldwide.
“The Middle East is a key buyer of quality South Australian milling wheat. South East Asia is of course another major destination, as well as North Africa and the Indian subcontinent.
“We bring many customers to South Australia to see the supply chain in action as well as visit growers so they can gain a deeper understanding of where their products are coming from and how they are managed.”
Port Lincoln is one of the few naturally deep sea port terminals in Australia that can load large vessels.
The Adriana Rose is a Kamsarmax vessel 229 metres in length with seven holds. It is the third-largest grain vessel to be loaded in SA’s history.