Grain cooperative CBH Group says significant investment in its network has already started paying off, with a $128 million surplus recorded in the 2017-18 season off the back of a bumper harvest in the nation’s west.
While growers in eastern Australia suffered through drought conditions, CBH’s 4,000 growers have reaped the rewards of a 13.3 million tonne harvest, with the cooperative delivering $95 million in rebates, or up to $10.50 per tonne.
CBH chief executive Jimmy Wilson said growers were enjoying a bumper crop while also benefiting from strong grain prices.
He said the result was also evidence of the co-op’s focus on improving service for growers while reducing costs.
“The full year results confirm that our transformation is progressing well and that CBH can continue to deliver low cost outbound costs & good marketing and trading results for growers,” Wilson said.
“We also continued to optimise our storage and handling network, investing significantly to improve the service and efficiency of our sites, make our fees even more competitive and deliver tonnes to port when its most needed.”
In the 12 months ending September 2018, CBH invested $212 million into network capital and maintenance. This included an extra 650,000 tonnes of permanent storage in the network, 1.1 million tonnes of new emergency storage, and 24 projects to enhance throughput.
“We remain committed to reducing paddock to port costs for our growers and working towards our goal of removing ongoing costs of more than $100 million from the business,” Wilson said.
“In addition, we are continuing the elevated work pace on the Network improvement to deliver an optimal supply chain and help keep our growers internationally competitive.”