“Our commitment to the Australian market is reflected in this development,” LDC’s chief executive officer Michael Gelchie said. “We have been active in Australia for over a century, and our strategic plans involve reinforcing our leading position in core agri-commodities merchandising activities.”

“I want to thank Emerald Grain’s management team and staff for their significant contribution to the successful growth partnership to date with Longriver Farms,” said Longriver Farms director Brad Mytton.

“We’re both excited and pleased to share this joint agreement with LDC,” said Mr Mytton. “Going forward, Emerald Grain’s growers and customers will reap the benefits of LDC’s knowledge and experience in agri-commodities.”

Emerald Grain—grain storage and receipt facility is located in New South Wales and Victoria. It has seven-grain storage and collecting sites throughout the two states with a total capacity of around 1 million tonnes.

In addition, it owns and operates the Port of Melbourne’s only grain terminal with a maximum load-out rate of 20,000 tons per day. The terminal has road and rail access and marketing offices in Geraldton (Western Australia) and Moama (New South Wales).

These factors give the company an integrated supply chain and experienced staff knowledgeable in exporting various products across Australia, such as wheat, barley and canola.

“We’re thrilled that this agreement will allow Australian growers connected to us to sell their products globally,” said Emerald Grain CEO David Johnson.

“LDC’s leadership role in the global agriculture sector demonstrates its dedication to growers and consumers alike, and we look forward to continuing our partnership with LDC as part of the family.”

“LDC has a long and proud history of supporting Australian agriculture,” said LDC’s chief commercial officer and head of the Asia region James Zhou.

“We expect to continue supporting Australia’s farming community and grain industry while building on our origin network for key grains and oilseeds staples to meet growing customer demands around the world, with Emerald Grain on board,” Mr Zhou added.

This acquisition by Louis Dreyfus Company of Emerald Grain is a strong indication of the company’s dedication to the Australian market. The move will benefit Australian growers by allowing them to connect with LDC’s global network and sell their products on a much larger scale. This is good news for the Australian agriculture industry as a whole.