Australia's largest grain handler CBH Group says its Western Australian harvest has surpassed the previous year's record with 21.7 million tonnes of crop received so far.
Australia's largest grain handler CBH Group says its Western Australian harvest has surpassed the previous year's record with 21.7 million tonnes of crop received so far.
CBH Group said the 2021-22 high of 21.3mt received was passed on Thursday afternoon, making it the largest year on record in the group's 90-year history.
The group's announcement said WA had reported a record crop of 21.7mt in the 2022-23 financial year so far, after the 1.11mt of grain in the past week.
In the previous season, CBH received more than 92 per cent of the state's total grain harvest which stood at 23.1mt, 30 per cent bigger than the previous record crop in 2016-17.
CBH Group chief operations officer Mick Daw said individuals and teams had gone to extraordinary efforts to keep grain moving and deliver to customers throughout the year.
"I would especially like to thank everyone – from the frontline employees to the ports and offices across WA - for the part you’ve played in us being able to reach this record," he said.
"We have only been able to receive a record amount of grain due to the resilience, dedication, and collaboration of the team from the end of last harvest to now.
“With many growers still harvesting, especially in the Albany and Esperance zones, the final harvest total for CBH is expected to be higher still.”
CBH Group said it has shipped a record of 2.18mt of grain and railed 1mt in December, surpassing the previous shipping record of 1.89mt in January 2017.
"This is the greatest amount of grain moved through the supply chain and to our customers in any month ever," its announcement said.
According to CBH Group, Albany has received 4.22mt to date with a further 400,000 to 500,000 tonnes yet to be delivered.
The majority of the grain delivered to Albany is wheat, followed by barley.
CBH Group said daily receival records were broken at Broomehill, Cranbrook, Gairdner, Dumbleyung, Nyabing, Wellstead, Hyden, Lake Grace and Chilinup, while multiple sites across the Albany zone heading for new all-time receival records.
Growers in the Lakes region in the Esperance Zone were starting to wind up while growers along the coastal regions had to manage through a challenging harvest, according to the group.
Receival records have also been surpassed in the Geraldton zone at 4mt compared to the 3.9mt set last year.
CBH Group said 19 sites were still open in the Kwinana North zone but would be reduced to about eight major sites by the end of next week.
"The Kwinana North zone has received 6.13mt, with about another 150,000t expected to come in," it said.
"The Kwinana South zone has now received approximately 95 per cent of expected volumes, totalling 4.27 million tonnes, with a further 300,000 tonnes expected to be delivered in the next two weeks."
