One of the world's biggest grain traders, Bunge, is expanding its Australian footprint with a new bulk-grain export terminal in Geelong.
The proposal revealed on Wednesday by Bunge Australia would be its second in Australia, following another at Bunbury in Western Australia and would be the fourth such facility in Victoria.
The proposed terminal would export about 450,000 tonnes of grain each year and so would be similar to the Bunbury facility, which loaded its first vessel last month.
Victorian farmers and Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons immediately welcomed the announcement, saying the facility would increase competition and export options.
Bunge Australia general manager Chris Aucote said the company wanted to develop a modern export facility that would offer a competitive export pathway for grains. The terminal would be built on land owned by Midway Limited, he said.
“The new terminal is intended to assist Bunge to offer better prices to grain growers and better service to customers,” he said.
“A competitive export supply chain is widely acknowledged as vital for Australia’s grain industry, as is additional capacity to service export markets at key times of the year, so our investment meets both aims,'' he said.
''Like Bunbury, we decided on Geelong due to the capabilities of its port, complementary infrastructure and good transport access for grain supply,” Mr Aucote said.
The Geelong announcement is not the only significant development in the Australian grains industry in recent times. A new grain export facility expected to cost about $75 million has been announced for Port Kembla, in Wollongong. And a new grain export terminal was commissioned in Newcastle within the past 12 months.
In Geelong, Bunge has sought planning permission to build a grain receiving facility and three storage silos, each able to hold 8000 tonnes of grain, adjacent to Corio Quay North.
Bunge Australia is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bunge Limited, one of the world's largest grain trading companies. Bunge did not reveal the cost of the project, but industry insiders speculated that it would be a $15 million to $20 million project.
Ports Minister David Hodgett said the announcement was ''more fantastic news for the Port of Geelong, on the back of three consecutive years of record growth. This will be great news for job creation in Geelong, and fits in with the Coalition government's vision of continuing to expand the Port of Geelong as a bulk port.''
Cr Lyons said the proposal was ''yet another positive investment proposal for our region". He said the project would create 100 jobs during construction and up to 15 new ongoing jobs.
“This proposal makes a lot of sense as it is building on existing infrastructure and will boost the export capacity of the Australian grain industry,'' he said.
“Bunge’s investment endorses Geelong as a great place to do business”, he said.
Brett Hosking, president of the grains group of the Victorian Farmers Federation, said the terminal would ''make a significant difference to grain exports'' from Victoria.
''It's really good. We welcome any new investment in agriculture and the grains sector,'' he said.
''It's a confidence booster. It recognises the fact that our industry has a lot of growth potential. Bunge has recognised that and is prepared to invest.''
