All six of Viterra’s port terminals were loading vessels on the 26th, which has only happened seven times since 2009 when its Outer Harbor terminal was opened.

Tim Krause, general manager of Viterra, said the record demonstrated the efficiencies of the Viterra supply chain and why exporters come to South Australia to source their grain.

“Our ability to load vessels quickly and reliably minimizes wait times and freight costs to the export markets and removes risk premiums that buyers would otherwise embed into pricing,” Krause said. “We were loading vessels for four different exporters on Monday, including wheat, barley and pulses heading to five different destinations in Asia and the Middle East.

“Each exporter wants a very specific product with very specific quality parameters. This can apply to a vessel, or even each hatch on a vessel, which we can deliver. More than 30 buyers operate through our system, giving growers a range of selling options. Meeting the specific needs of buyers encourages them to come back to South Australia over other grain growing origins in Australia and around the world.”

Krause said this was the first time the company had loaded more than 100,000 tonnes in a day for grain commodities. The previous record was 89,000 tonnes loaded on April 5, 2013.

“It can be likened to emptying a grain receival site the size of Arno Bay, Saddleworth or Loxton in one day,” Krause said. “It is a fantastic effort by our staff to logistically execute this task, which includes accumulating the grain, preparing it for export, meeting food safety and quality specifications, moving it to port and loading the vessels efficiently.”

More than 2.39 million tonnes of grain has been exported from Viterra’s ports this season, to 19 different export destinations.