WEST PERTH, AUSTRALIA — The CBH Group announced on June 4 the launch of CBH Fertilizer to supply growers with base granular fertilizer products.

CBH Fertilizer will use the services of Qube to coordinate direct collection points close to CBH’s Kwinana and Geraldton port terminals. Growers will be able to order from August this year for next season’s supply.

CBH Group Chairman Wally Newman said growers had been asking CBH to explore farm input costs for some time and CBH said it is confident it can now offer fertilizer supplies.

“Fertilizer is a major cost of production and we believe we can offer competitive prices by using our cooperative to drive efficiencies in the supply chain,” he said. “What is more attractive is that as a cooperative, any value created from CBH Fertilizer will be passed back to growers through lower cost or rebates.”

In its first year, CBH Fertilizer will offer a limited volume of a select range of fertilizer products to growers. CBH said it needs to test the market to ensure that growers will support their cooperative to estimate future fertilizer supply.

“But given our limited volume this year, it is critical that growers order early to allow us to manage the supply in the most efficient way possible,” Newman said.