Emerald cargo sets sail
Emerald Grain's first ever canola shipment from the Geraldton port set sail last week.
The 55,000-tonne vessel Corinna was loaded with canola from the 2014 harvest.
The vessel took four days to load before heading to Fuzhou in China, where it will be crushed for oil used in food manufacturing.
Emerald Grain general manager Dick McCagh said he and grain merchant Tom Wake booked the cargo in response to feedback from growers.
"Growers we had worked with on wheat and barley contracts had been asking us if we could be more active in the local canola market," he said.
"The Geraldton zone only produced approximately 175,000 tonnes of canola so to be able to ship 55,000 tonnes of that is a good achievement.
Mr McCagh said China lifted a ban on Australian canola imports in April 2013 and since then, canola shipments to China had increased dramatically.
"Since 2013, Australian canola growers have achieved around 20 per cent market share into China," he said.
"This is testament to the quality of the product our farmers grow."
A survey conducted by Emerald Grain around Geraldton in July 2014 revealed about 45 per cent of the local canola crop was genetically modified.
"Geraldton growers have been the leaders in adoption of GM varieties in WA," Mr McCagh said.
Canola made up about 8 per cent of all cereal, pulse and oilseed crops in the Geraldton port zone last year and Mr McCagh said he expected around the same amount to be grown this year.
To mark the loading of the ship, eight local growers toured Geraldton's export grain terminal and climbed aboard the vessel.
Mullewa grower Brendan Rowe contributed to the shipment after harvesting nearly 1000ha of canola last year.
Mr Rowe said it was positive to see Emerald Grain's participation in the market.
"Emerald has supported us over the years in different ways and we were keen to continue to do business," he said.
"Their price was competitive and they've been a good company to deal with.
"We have grown canola for a number of years, but buyers out of Geraldton have been limited."
Mr McCagh said it was a successful shipment for Emerald Grain and the company hoped to be able to continue to participate in the market in future harvests.
