September 20, 2010

Australian bumper crop hampered by transport problems

Transport shortages are looming as a serious problem as preparations are made for Australia's third biggest winter crop on record.

The grain harvest is expected to top 40 million tonnes this season after good rains across most eastern states.

However, Peter Bradley from the Australian Grain Harvesters Association says a lack of trucks and trains will cause a problem.

There have been a lot of workers falling out of the trucking industry because of poor harvests in the last few years, he adds.

Grain handler GrainCorp is preparing for the bumper harvest by reopening old storage sites and creating overflow bunkers.

Graincorp's David Ginns says the handler can store 20 million tonnes of grain on the east coast, which should be enough to cater for demand.

"We'll also be receiving grain initially into bunkers instead of permanent storage, which will dramatically increase the rate at which we're able to turn trucks around," he says.