Harvest records were shattered in Western Australia and on the east coast, and earlier this year Viterra broke its all-time receival record for its South Australian sites in a season. 

More than 8.55 million tonnes of grain was delivered to Viterra’s sites, beating the previous SA record of 8.54Mt in 2001/02.

Viterra General Manager Operations Tim Krause said the huge shipping tonnages were critical in moving South Australia’s large 2016/17 crop. 

“The large harvest has been excellent for growers but securing exports from South Australia is equally as important,” Krause said. 

“Receiving the crop is only half the job for us, we have an extensive logistics program to outturn the grain and move it to port to meet export demand and prepare for the 2017 harvest. 

“South Australia is competing against other grain growing regions globally so our ability to move the grain quickly, efficiently and while meeting strict quality specifications is crucial to ensuring buyers keep coming to SA to source their grain.” 

Total shipping for the 2016/17 season in South Australia has now passed 2 million tonnes. 

Krause said the sheer volume of grain being shipped was fantastic for the industry and wider South Australian economy. 

“We will continue to focus on high shipping benchmarks to manage the crop for growers, meet the needs of our export customers and continue our preparations for the 2017 harvest.”