Western Australia’s newest grain exporter has ambitions for port upgrades, more buyers, and critical minerals exports off the back of the new service
Western Australia’s newest grain exporter hopes his entry into the market will spur port upgrades and bring more buyers into the Albany zone.
The Richardson family’s Commodity Ag this week began exporting grain from Albany Port’s common-user berth using a leased mobile ship loader and the company’s 21,000-tonne storage terminal on the outskirts of town.
Commodity Ag is WA’s fourth grain export facility operator, and the first to enter the market since Esperance Quality Grains in 2018.
The move has been five years in the making and the Richardsons have spent the past two years clearing compliance hurdles to establish its export business.
Alan Richardson said vertical integration would allow Commodity Ag to capture opportunities lost in the current supply chain.
“The supply chain will potentially bring more buyers to the zone, provide extra capacity for peak periods or big tonnage years, and service markets that require identity preservation and other niche requirements,” he said.
“(Berth two) is due for an upgrade and hopefully the extra trade Commodity Ag provides will help make this possible in the future.
“Commodity Ag will look at ways to expand its infrastructure in the future with a multi-commodity approach once the grain programme is established.”
Mr Richardson said a critical minerals supply chain was also on the company’s radar.
Southern Ports acting chief executive Monica Birkner said she was pleased to see new trade deals open up in WA’s south.
“Over the past year across our ports, we’ve negotiated nine new trade deals and licenses for bulk export customers like Commodity Ag, as well as new breakbulk trade,” she said.
“This includes working with Commodity Ag to make it possible for the exporter to utilise capacity in our multi-user berth at our Port of Albany to export grain with its mobile ship loading infrastructure.
“Our team, as we do with all potential trade customers, has worked closely with Commodity Ag to ensure we’re well placed to support the exporter to achieve its trade goal by managing the requirements around safety compliance, infrastructure and logistics.”
The Princess Royal Harbour port’s 2023 masterplan laid out upgrades to reduce congestions, improve common-user infrastructure, and boost dry bulk storage by the end of the decade.
Longer term, the port’s woodchip exports terminal is expected to be repurposed for other uses by 2050.
The Richardsons are a fifth-generation farming family with 21,300 hectares of broadacre farmland around Gnowangerup in the Great Southern.
Their business, Commodity Ag operates the farms, a feedlot, transport fleet, and the Duraquip heavy vehicle trailer manufacturing business.
The business’ first export from Albany is a 23,000-tonne wheat shipment bound for Indonesia.
