Farmers of North America says it now has enough commitments from farmers to proceed with its plan to become involved in grain handling at the West Coast.
“We have the farmers’ commitment. The project plan is a go,” Glenn Caleval, FNA vice-president, said in a news release.
The organization did not say how many farmers have signed tonnage commitments and bought membership units in FNA’s Export Terminal Corp., but Caleval said it has enough to carry on.
The FNA had hoped to get to this point earlier and had to extend its marketing when its January deadline passed without an adequate commitment from farmers.
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Membership units now cost $15 each and entitle the buyer to a service fee refund for 20 years on one tonne of grain shipped through Export Terminal Corp. Once the corporation is operational, FNA expects to increase the cost of new membership units to $20 per tonne.
FNA is targeting rebates of $5 to $12 per tonne, paid out of handling, cleaning, storage, blending and marketing revenue.
The corporation has not specifically laid out how it plans to get into the port terminal business, but it’s generally thought to be interested in buying the Agricore United grain terminal being sold by a trustee appointed by the federal Competition Bureau.
