World Grain - December 2018 - 16

NEWSREVIEW

Viterra to expand two grain facilities
REGINA, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA - Viterra Inc. announced on Nov. 22 that it plans to upgrade its terminals at Binscarth,
Manitoba and Stettler, Alberta. These investments will result in increased rail capacity, substantial expansion of storage capacity, and
faster throughput. Storage capacity will increase by over 30,000
tonnes at each facility. Railcar capacity at the facilities will more
than double, and each location will be able to load in excess of 134
railcars once the upgrades are complete. The Binscarth facility is
situated on a CP operated rail line, while the Stettler facility is on
Alberta Prairie Railway, a CP railroad partner.
"We're pleased to continue working with Viterra to advance our
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and the broader economy," said Joan Hardy, CP's vice-president of

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integral to the continued success of the grain supply chain."
Viterra said its focus on targeted industry investments combined
with its strong supplier partnerships are an essential component of its
long-term strategy.
"Over the last several years, we've invested substantially in our
value chain, from our inland country assets to our port facilities," said
Kyle Jeworski, Viterra's president and CEO for North America. "We
will continue to make the necessary investments and work closely
with our supply chain partners to ensure we're well positioned to
VXSSRUWWKHHI¿FLHQWPRYHPHQWRI&DQDGD¶VDJULFXOWXUDOFRPPRGLties today and well into the future."

Companies partner on aquaculture facility in Angola
GUANZHOU, CHINA - Sino Agro Food, Inc. signed an agreement
with Nortus, Lda. for construction of an aquafarm in Angola.
Sino Agro will work with Nortus Aquacultura e Pesca, Lda to develop a vertically integrated farming system in Angola modeled after
the conceptual plan of Sino Agro's Aquafarms 4 and 5.
The aquaculture farm will produce 150,000 tonnes of feed and
fruits and vegetables per year and 60,000 tonnes of seafood per year,
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In addition to production farms and training, the plan calls for both
upstream and downstream assets, including hatcheries, feed mills,
marketing, distribution and export. The companies will request inclusion in the China Credit Line to Angola within the framework

of existing excellent relations between the two countries.
SIAF will conduct the project deployment operations.
"Nortus, Lda appreciates SIAF's great experience and know
how in the development of projects to reach the full potential of
Angola's ambitions to improve the food diet of the populations
of Angola, other parts of Africa, and to export surplus product,"
said Nortus, Lda. Principal Rui Sancho. "The project will utilize
LGHQWL¿HGH[WHQVLYHDUDEOHODQGZLWKFOHDQZDWHUVSULQJVLQWKHPXnicipalities of Porto Amboim and Cela in Kwanza Sul, Angola, and
Ambaca in Kwanza Norte, Angola. In the future, the project may be
expanded to other locations; namely, the Tiger's Bay Development
Plan in Namibe, Angola."

GrainCorp profit drops on drought
WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA - After a strong campaign in 2017,
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Ltd. The company suffered from below average grain production due
to drought across the eastern seaboard of Australia, which contributed to softer year-over-year results.
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earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization
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"2018 was a challenging year with prolonged dry conditions in
eastern Australia leading to below-average grain production and a
substantial drop in grain exports," Mark Palmquist, managing director and CEO, said in a Nov. 15 report. "As an owner and operator of
country and port assets, grain throughput and asset utilization are important for GrainCorp and with lower volumes in eastern Australia,
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result and improved performance from Oils."
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a sharp drop in grain production in eastern Australia to 16.6 million
tonnes, which compared with 28.2 million tonnes in 2017. Lower
grain exports also were a factor in the decline.
"The result was also negatively impacted by GrainCorp's 'take-orpay' rail commitments, due to the lower volumes," he said. "These
16

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to manage transportation costs through the crop cycle. Despite the
WLJKWQHVVLQJUDLQVXSSO\*UDLQ&RUSKDVEHQH¿WHGIURPWKHLQWHJUDtion of its storage, handling and trading businesses by achieving a
higher share of domestic grain trade. We continued to rationalize our
country network, with grains operating approximately 145 sites during harvest, down from 160 last year."
Palmquist said the company expanded grains' origination footprint, commissioning the second of four GrainsConnect Canada sites
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he said.
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As a result of the drought, the company announced on Nov. 1 that
it would cut jobs in its Grains business unit in Australia.
The company said there will be a reduction of management layers
in country and port operations and "removal of duplication through
streamlining of other functions." Additionally, the Grains' eastern
Australian supply chain, planning, operations, customer and commercial management functions are being streamlined.
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Pamminger, group general manager, Grains. "However, we are acting to ensure a sustainable future for our business in eastern Australia
beyond the immediate term."
December 2018 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - December 2018

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