A deal between Mid West Ports and Plum Grove Logistics will bolster the capacity of WA farmers to export grain products from Geraldton to international markets.
The three-year agreement between the two organisations will allow for the export of 600,000 tonnes of grain.
Last year, the Geraldton port exported 4.592 million tonnes of grain.
The partnership also marks the first entrant to provide an additional grain supply chain to complement CBH’s grain export operations at Geraldton port.
The agreement was the start of an “exciting chapter” in the Mid West’s growth and export capacity, according to Mid West Ports Authority CEO Damian Tully.
“This new supply chain with Plum Grove will supplement CBH’s traditional export activities and grow the capacity of our farmers to reach highly sought after overseas markets,” he said.
“This is great news for farmers, and great news for our region’s growing export capacity.”
The partnership comes after a trial-and-error period, which was described as “highly successful”, meeting the MWPA’s environmental and operational controls.
The port revealed that last week marked the fourth successful shipment of wheat and lupin to Asian and European markets, ahead of the new agreement.
The deal was also said to follow two years of collaboration on a “niche model” which met the needs of local grain growers and required flexibility to respond to agile growing conditions and international markets.
Plum Grove has been granted grain export approval with its assurance controls and is set to operate from Geraldton’s common-user Berth 6.
Andrew Young, Plum Grove Logistics CEO, said he was confident in the model and noted it would support farmers with their paddock-to-plate operations and other smaller freight tasks.
“This model gives confidence to farmers to take advantage of opportunities to increase production during ideal conditions, and grow their exposure to international markets,” he said.
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