Record harvest: WA grain handler CBH receives biggest crop in 90-year history

WA’s powerhouse grains industry is celebrating another record with CBH Group this week announcing it has received its highest ever yield from the State’s farmers. A spokesman for Australia’s biggest grain marketer and handler said the previous record of 21.3 million tonnes received by CBH during the 2021-22 harvest was surpassed late on Thursday, January 5. CBH has labelled the record “a huge achievement for everyone involved in the WA grain industry” — including growers, their families and employees, CBH staff, agribusinesses, agronomists, transporters and farming communities. “With many growers still harvesting, especially in the Albany and Esperance zones, the final harvest total for CBH is expected to be higher still,” chief operations officer Mick Daw said. “I would especially like to thank everyone — from the frontline employees to the ports and offices across WA — for the part you’ve played in us being able to reach this record. “I know that individuals and teams have gone to extraordinary efforts to keep grain moving and deliver tonnes to our customers throughout the year. “We have only been able to receive a record amount of grain due to the resilience, dedication, and collaboration of the team from the end of last harvest to now.” It comes after CBH shipped a record 2.18Mt of grain and railed 1 million tonnes in a single month in December. That record surpassed the previous shipping record of 1.89 million tonnes set in January 2017 by 15 per cent. CBH said it was the greatest amount of grain moved through the supply chain and to its customers in any month ever in the co-operative’s 90-year history. In addition, 54 sites across CBH’s network have broken daily receival records and 34 sites have received the most tonnes on record during the current harvest. The Grain Industry Association of WA has predicted a record 24.7Mt crop for WA this harvest, well above the all-time high of 24.3Mt harvested in 2021-22.