Port of Townsville is now able to export grain in bulk as well as containers. Photo: Port of Townsville

NORTH Queensland’s first bulk grain cargo is loading in Townsville to mark a milestone for the port, and the opening of a supply chain that promises increased efficiencies for the region’s growers.

Loading now on board the Sea Eagle, and bound for India and Pakistan, it builds on planning and investment from NQ Bulk Storage & Logistics, launched in 2020 by Chris Sizer and Helen Cogill.

The 38,500-tonne chickpea cargo is expected to be the only one out of Townsville this season, fitting in between the recent harvest and the impending arrival of the wet season, and ahead of volume exports gearing up out of Mackay, Gladstone, Brisbane and Newcastle.

Starting small

Sizer & Cogill is an established packer and exporter of containerised grain and pulses out of Townsville, and recently gained certification to ship in bulk from the Port of Townsville’s common-user berth.

The arrival earlier this month of a mobile shiploader was the last piece of the puzzle to fall into place.

It is loading chickpeas accumulated at the company’s new purpose-built storage and handling facility on the Port Access Road.

“This has always been about giving our growers more options and creating efficiency in how we move their product,” Mr Sizer said.

“Seeing grain/pulses leave Townsville in bulk for the first time is not just a business achievement, it’s a win for the whole supply chain.”

This first cargo, with others to follow next year, has been made possible through the Agristore NQ partnership with Agristorage & Logistics.

Based in Moree in northern New South Wales, Agristorage & Logistics is a grain-storage specialist, and is bunkering intake at the Townsville site, as well as leasing Sizer & Cogill’s Mt McLaren depot in Central Qld.

After moving into Australian pulse exports last year, Louis Dreyfus Company is doing the current chickpea cargo.

“Having a global leader like LDC on board shows how much potential this region holds.

“We all share the same goal – to support our local growers and unlock new export pathways.”

Chickpeas currently being loaded have been grown primarily in the Julia Creek, Marathon, Maxwelton, and Richmond districts of North Qld.

They have come into the NQ Bulk Storage and Logistics site direct from farms via triple and quad road trains.

Ms Cogill said being able to road-freight such long loads provides significant efficiencies, as does the Port of Townsville precinct’s ability to accommodate triples.

“We use triples to load from the stockpile and take the chickpeas to the ship,” Ms Cogill said.

“Because of wet weather coming, we won’t take in any more this year, but I’d like to think we’ll get two shipments of chickpeas out next year.”

North Qld is also growing significant amounts of sorghum, which has the potential to be exported from next year through the Agristore NQ partnership.

The Port is Townsville is Australia’s largest exporter of sugar, molasses, copper, zinc, lead, and fertiliser, and Australia is the world’s largest chickpea exporter.

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