February 13, 2009

In a bid to ease never-before-seen congestion in its grain export system, Western Australia's Cooperative Bulk Handling Ltd. aims to ramp up throughput to export 3 million tonnes of grain by the end of April, a CBH spokeswoman said Thursday (February 12).

 

CBH's schedule for vessels to load cargoes of grain - mostly wheat - at its export terminals at the ports of Esperance, Albany, Kwinana and Geraldton is full for February and March and the company isn't taking orders beyond that for now, said Amber Anderson.

 

The problem is the capacity of CBH to get grain to port from its nearly 200 upcountry storage facilities is currently about 650,000 tonnes a month using existing road and rail transport, she said.

 

Augmented by grain hauled to port in previous months, "we are currently working with marketers and transporters to ramp this up and are targeting to ship 3 million tonnes of grain from now until the end of April," said Anderson.

 

CBH terminals exported 1.1 million tonnes of grain in January and have exported a total 2.5 million tonnes of new crops from the 12.3 million tonnes delivered to CBH, she said, 70 percent of which is wheat, with the rest comprising barley, lupins, canola and other grains and pulses.

 

CBH doesn't own all the grain. Growers and marketers also use CBH's statewide system to store grain.

 

The annual harvest, started in October, was delayed by rain and continued to late January. Most grain was received into its system around the end of November and early December.

 

Almost 20 ships are either at CBH's berths at the four ports or at anchor waiting to load.

 

CBH Corporate Affairs Manager Cathy Bolt previously said the issue isn't the capacity of the ports so much as accumulating cargoes of grain in port from upcountry storage facilities.

 

Other industry participants have cited teething problems with newly deregulated bulk wheat exports and logistics hurdles arising from a large late crop.

 

Australia ended a long-term monopoly over wheat exports operated by AWB Ltd. (AWB.AU) June 30, 2008, and since then, 22 companies have been accredited to export bulk wheat, with about half listed on CBH's shipping schedule and keen to get their export trade from the state moving.