The CBH Group, Perth, said on May 31 that it has opened its new 20,000 mt fertilizer storage facility in Esperance in Western Australia. After achieving a 47% increase in sales last year, CBH’s fertilizer business has entered a new phase of growth with the Esperance facility now fully operational, according to the company.
“As a core function of the co-operative, CBH Fertiliser is committed to delivering on the strategy of reducing growers’ on-farm input costs and improving the consistency of fertilizer supply in Western Australia,” said CBH Chairman Simon Stead. “The opening of our new Esperance facility will enable us to bring surety of supply to Esperance growers and bring further competitiveness to the market.”
Head of Fertiliser David Pritchard said that CBH is aiming to fill a gap in the market.
“Given the remoteness of the Esperance Port Zone, we believe there is a gap in the market from a supply and pricing perspective,” said David Pritchard, CBH Head of Fertilizer. “We have also seen demand for fertilizer, particularly nitrogen, grow exponentially in recent years, with the existing market struggling to keep pace during key times.
“We hope to execute 25,000 mt at the site this year, which will enable us to get the process right and get growers comfortable with new competition,” added Pritchard.
The new facility is owned by logistics provider Qube Holdings Ltd., Sydney, and operated by CBH Fertiliser. The purpose-built warehouse is designed for fertilizer storage, blending, and loading of trucks with a full range of granular phosphates, nitrogen, potash, and sulfur products. CBH said the latest Yargus blending equipment was installed to allow for accurate and high-capacity blending of multiple products, plus specialties such as liquid copper, zinc, and fungicides.
CBH said the facility includes a drive-through, under cover area for trucks, a CBH-owned and operated front-end loader, and a weighbridge to allow for greater control of costs and efficiencies at the site.
Despite a volatile global fertilizer market from a price and supply perspective, CBH Fertiliser said it has worked hard to ensure that all shipments contracted for 2022 arrive safely and on time.
“We strongly believe that we have set the benchmark for urea pricing across the past few months and are happy to share this pricing with growers to continually challenge input costs,” said Pritchard.