Agribusiness

Based in the Wheatbelt town of Cunderdin, agricultural machinery manufacturer Trufab Global has been nominated as Australia’s only finalist in the 2018 Swedish Steel Prize.

The environmental watchdog has recommended approval of the first stage of China-backed Kimberley Agricultural Investment’s Carlton Plain project, which comprises a 3,000-hectare irrigated development north-west of Kununarra.

Andrew Forrest has lost his latest court fight against a sand miner operating on his cattle station in WA's Pilbara region.

Australia was one of 11 nations that signed on to the successor to the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal in Chile last night, just more than a year after the United States pulled out of the original deal.

40under40: Richard Devlin’s business is poised to ride a new wave of development in agricultural research tech.

Fourteen females have been inducted into the WA Women’s Hall of Fame today as part of International Women’s Day, while a new report out reveals a spike in female board appointments to start the year.

Company director and former WA attorney general Cheryl Edwardes has been appointed as the new chairperson for agribusiness CropLogic while St John of God Health Care has appointed Azure Capital managing partner Adrian Arundell to its board.

The receivers of Quintis have sought to retain full control of the sandalwood producer, appointing Primary Securities as an independent consultant and arguing that plans by growers to take control of some forestry schemes would be counterproductive.

Two Perth-based startups have been awarded federal grants totalling about $815,000 to help bring their products to market, as part of the national Accelerating Commercialisation (AC) program.

Improved margins on live cattle voyages have helped agribusiness Wellard reduce its net loss after tax for the first half of the financial year to $7.5 million, nearly 60 per cent lower than the previous corresponding period.

West Perth-based CBH Group has recorded a grain harvest of 13.2 million tonnes for the 2017-18 season, well above initial estimates following good finishing rains.

A critical ruling by the corporate regulator has forced Quintis investors to adjourn a meeting that was called to appoint a new responsible entity for their 2002 sandalwood project.

Quintis investors hoping to appoint a new ‘responsible entity’ to have oversight of their sandalwood project will need to change plans after the corporate regulator said their two preferred entities were not eligible to take the role.

The Quintis story is another example of the failure of tax-driven plantation schemes to deliver for investors.

The Quintis insolvency could play out very differently from other failed agribusiness investment schemes.

Three partners of McGrathNicol have formally taken control of sandalwood producer Quintis and its Australian subsidiaries after being appointed as receivers and managers today.

Fremantle-based Primary Securities and Sydney-based Huntley Group are positioning themselves to take over as the responsible entity for Quintis forestry schemes, as investors continue to question the motives of the company’s board and its major noteholder.

The directors of Quintis have shed light on two restructuring proposals they had been trying to finalise, after announcing on Sunday they had placed the sandalwood producer in administration because of its inability to make a $37 million payment due in two weeks.

Quintis faces more financial pressure after an investor exercised a put option to sell $37 million of plantations to the troubled sandalwood producer.

Critics of sandalwood company Quintis, who are already calling for a spill of current directors, are now pushing to replace the responsible entity overseeing its 2002 project.

Grain handling cooperative CBH Group has more than doubled its operating surplus to $247 million in the year to September 2017 on the back of a big harvest, with grower rebates of $156 million.

Embattled sandalwood producer Quintis has announced the purchase of $3 million of sandalwood from growers operating on plantations managed by the company.

Troubled sandalwood producer Quintis says its board intends to advise shareholders to vote against a series of resolutions to spill the board, while also announcing a one week extension on its forbearance agreement.

A group of Quintis shareholders has requisitioned a general meeting to spill three directors, including chairman Dalton Gooding, with avocado grower Craig Duncan, Kimberley Development Commission director Robert Boshammer and property developer John Allen nominating for roles.

Quintis chairman Dalton Gooding has come under fire from company founder and former chief executive Frank Wilson and other shareholders at a heated annual meeting today.

A Manjimup farm business’s $2 million-plus processing facility has become the latest in a string of horticultural investments around the state.

Industry stakeholders are concerned about the level of port market share held by grain handler CBH Group, while entry for new players like Bunge has been challenging, according to a new Australian Competition and Consumer Commission report.

The western rock lobster industry contributes $282 million and around 900 jobs directly to the Western Australian economy with an overall impact of more than $500 million, a new report has found.

A new accelerator program for startups in the agribusiness sector will get under way next year after securing funding from the state government’s Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development.

An economy in transition offers hope for WA to emerge with a broader base.

The dairy sector needs a mandatory code of conduct to give farmers more bargaining power and to prevent chaos like that spawned by surprise cuts to the farmgate milk price in 2016, the competition watchdog says.

Western Australian avocado farmer Jennifer Franceschi has won a category in the national Telstra Businesswoman of the year awards, although News South Wales-based refugee advocate Violet Roumeliotis took out the top prize.