Michelle Daw, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

The GrainFlow site at Maitland is one of five storage and handling sites in South Australia and western Victoria to be bought by Viterra from Cargill.

The other sites are at Crystal Brook, Mallala, Pinnaroo and Dimboola.

Viterra has also announced it will buy Cargill’s mobile ship loader at Port Adelaide.

Viterra Australia New Zealand chief executive Philip Hughes said the acquisitions would deliver efficiencies for SA and western Victorian supply chains and bring opportunities for growers, buyers and the industry.

“We will achieve freight rate savings, including 25 per cent at Maitland, through the integration of the GrainFlow sites with Viterra’s existing site, logistics and port network,” Mr Hughes said.

“Maitland’s position between our Wallaroo and Port Giles ports will allow flexibility to move grain from the site to support exports from either port.

“The freight saving we could achieve at the site as part of our network is due to its location between the ports and increased volume efficiencies.

“We will be investing about $25 million into these sites in the first two years and will continue investing $8m annually to support efficient outturns, and improve delivery times and the grower experience more broadly where required.

“This will include new drive-over hopper stackers and front-end loaders.”

Mr Hughes said Viterra representatives expected to meet with GrainFlow employees at the sites to be acquired in the coming weeks.

“We’re excited to welcome the GrainFlow employees who transfer over into our business and we will require employees with experience and knowledge of operating these sites,” he said.

“As we integrate these sites into our network, we expect there to be more opportunities for employees.”

Mr Hughes said the acquisitions would help make the SA grain supply chain more efficient to compete with interstate grain suppliers and those in the Black Sea, Canada, United States and South America.

“We look forward to growing our relationship with Cargill, which will continue to be one of the 24 exporters purchasing grain through the Viterra network, and seeing them increase their volumes as a key exporter from SA.”

Cargill Australia managing director Zsolt Kocza said Cargill was committed to growing its business in SA and across Australia.

“We have a long-term access agreement to Viterra’s export supply chain, supporting our long-term growth plans,” he said.

“In the next few years, we intend to double our export volumes and become one of the largest exporters from the state.”

Mr Hughes said Viterra was working towards closing the transaction to acquire the sites from Cargill after the coming harvest. 

This article appeared in Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 1 October 2024.