CBH boss urges governments to continue to invest in grain on rail after $200m cash splash

The new boss of Australia’s biggest bulk grain exporter has urged governments to “recognise” the critical role agriculture plays in propping up the nation’s economy and bolster investment in grain on rail in WA. CBH chief executive Ben Macnamara said he was “confident” there would be more Federal and State Government investment poured into improving WA’s 2786km grain on rail network next year, after $200 million was secured in 2021. “Agriculture plays a really critical role in WA and it is good to see that governments are recognising that, with a significant amount of investment being considered,” Mr Macnamara said. “I am very hopeful we will see additional funding. We have been working collaboratively with government and other stakeholders. “I am confident we will receive more funding going into the grain growing regions of WA.” The ageing rail network is buckling under the pressure of the State’s flagged 22mt record harvest, with this year described by some growers as the “litmus test” for how it can cope with a crop size that has grown 200 per cent during the past 30 years. About 60 per cent of WA’s annual harvest is moved to port by rail each year, and the rest by road. WA’s 3900 grain farmers and industry figureheads are anxiously waiting for the Federal and State Government to determine how to spend $200 million in rail and road funding, more than six months after the lion’s share was announced. The cash boost for WA agricultural freight routes included $160 million of Federal Government funding announced in May and $40 million of State Government funding announced in September. Just $22 million has been allocated so far, with a plan to upgrade four rail sidings at CBH bins at Moora, Cranbrook, Broomehill and Brookton revealed by WA Transport Minister Rita Saffioti in February. The pre-State Budget cash splash marked the biggest State Government investment in grain on rail since 2010, despite more than $5.7 billion being allocated to WA Labor’s Metronet project for 2021-22. To bolster the State Government’s $22m rail sidings investment, CBH also plans to tip in $80 million to build rapid rail loading infrastructure at the four sites to speed up how quickly grain can be loaded onto trains. The upgrades are pegged to help growers get more tonnes to port during the “crucial first half of the year” before countries in the Black Sea region — Australia’s biggest competitors — harvest their annual crop. Mr Macnamara said CBH aimed to get 2.2 million tonnes of grain to port per month during the first half of the year — the peak period for overseas demand — by 2030, up from the current 1.6 million tonnes. “It is critical... this funding will enable us to increase the export capacity in that front half of the year,” he said. “We have been talking consistently about lifting our capacity from a average of 1.6mt per month to 2.2mt per month in the front half of the year.”