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Bumper crop breaks GrainCorp site records in standout season
February 19, 2021

With the winter crop harvest close to completion on Australia’s east coast, GrainCorp is celebrating record site
receivals across its grain handling network.
Over 60 sites in New South Wales and Victoria recorded their highest ever total of receivals of wheat, barley, Canola
and other grains.


The combined intake across harvest has totalled over 13 million tonnes of grower receivals year-to-date, eclipsing the
12.6 million tonnes of winter crop grower receivals delivered to GrainCorp during the last bumper crop in 2016/17.
NSW was the standout state with growers delivering over eight million tonnes; Coonamble came out on top at 443,000
tonnes, surpassing its previous record of 384,000 tonnes, four years ago.


GrainCorp General Manager of Operations Nigel Lotz said this harvest was a very welcome turnaround for many
farming communities.


“After several years of drought, it’s fantastic that growers have had a successful season of production, especially across NSW and Victoria,” Mr Lotz said.

“We’ve seen and felt the effects of the drought on many rural communities, some of which are still ongoing, so the change in conditions last year brought such a positive end to 2020 for many of them.

“For GrainCorp, several sites have gone from bust to boom – not only are they now full to the brim, but we added additional bunker storage to many of them to manage the bumper crop.

“We also opened some ‘flex’ sites that we maintain for years like this, once it became clear just how high the yields were going to be in some regions.”


NSW sites that lay dormant during the drought also recorded their all-time best season in 2020, including Armatree,
Garah, Merah North, Nyrang Creek, Peak Hill, Quirindi, Tamarang and Wirrinya.
NSW is also home to GrainCorp’s other standout receival sites, including Gilgandra, Parkes, Nevertire, Barellan,
Ardlethan and Calleen – all of which sailed over 200,000 tonnes.
In Victoria, while heat and rain events delayed harvest activity, grain is still being delivered in the Wimmera and
Southern areas of the state.

Several Victorian sites have recorded their best season, including Lillimur, which has taken 122,000 tonnes, Natimuk,
which has taken 101,000 tonnes and Carpolac, sitting at 43,000 tonnes.
Meanwhile, in Central Victoria, Elmore (178,000 tonnes) and Dunolly (137,000 tonnes) also broke receival records
thanks to additional bunkers built on site.


Mr Lotz said the company’s focus has now turned towards sending the grain out around the world.

“The harvest not only reinvigorated many of our sites; it has also led to a strong export program out of our ports at Carrington and Port Kembla, in NSW, and Geelong and Portland, in Victoria. The four ports are largely booked out until September 2021.

“It’s our first major export year since the drought really took hold so we’re thrilled to be given the chance to ‘stretch the legs’ of our port facilities,” Mr Lotz added.

GrainCorp’s NSW sites with highest receivals recorded in 2020/21 harvest season

Site20/21 harvest receival
tonnes (mt)
Previous best seasonPrevious best receival
tonnes (mt)
Coonamble443,0002016/17 harvest384,000
Gilgandra281,0002016/17 harvest161,000
Parkes261,0002010/11 harvest248,000
Nevertire238,0002010/11 harvest160,000
Barellan234,0002016/17 harvest194,000

GrainCorp’s VIC sites with highest receivals recorded in 2020/21 harvest season

Site20/21 harvest receival
tonnes (mt)
Previous best seasonPrevious best receival
tonnes (mt)
Elmore178,0002016/17 harvest159,000
Dunolly137,0002016/17 harvest131,000
Dookie135,0002010/11 harvest113,000
Lillimur122,0002019/20 harvest107,000
Natimuk101,0002012/13 harvest91,000

Media enquiries.

Jess Simons

Corporate Affairs & Government Relations Manager

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