G3 Terminal Vancouver is the first such facility to be built in Canada in more than 50 years; nine ships already loaded
Canada’s newest grain export terminal is officially open for business.
G3 Global Holdings announced July 8 that its new west coast export facility, G3 Terminal Vancouver, is substantially complete and is now being used for commercial shipping.
The North Vancouver terminal has been receiving grain for several months and had already loaded nine ships before the July 8 announcement.
Test shipments of wheat and canola were used to assess the terminal’s systems and improve speed and efficiency.
“Construction on the next generation facility … is now substantially complete,” G3 said in a news release.
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“The facility has for the last several months been safely and efficiently taking in prairie grain by rail and loading it onto ships as part of a careful and successful commissioning process. The facility is now in commercial operation.”
G3’s new export terminal is the crown jewel in a state-of-the-art, Canadian-based grain handling network that grew out of the ashes of the Canadian Wheat Board.
G3 Global Holdings, a joint venture between U.S. agribusiness Bunge Ltd. and the Saudi Agricultural & Livestock Investment Co. (SALIC), acquired a 50.1 percent share in the assets of the former wheat board for $250 million in 2015.
The former CWB assets are now part of a corporate entity known as G3 Canada, a subsidiary of G3 Global Holdings. Canadian farmers still hold a 49.9 percent share in G3 Canada but have no ownership stake in the Vancouver export facility.
G3’s new terminal, the first to be built in Canada in more than 50 years, is part of a modern, high-throughput grain handling network that will include new loop-track grain elevators located across Western Canada.
The company has already opened nine new elevators across the Prairies and five more are under construction.
Its new Vancouver terminal is capable of receiving up to three 150-car trains on a looped rail track configuration designed for rapid train unloading.
Hopper cars will unload on the move and return to G3’s prairie elevators without being detached from locomotive power.
The terminal’s loading dock can accommodate Capesize vessels, and its ship loading systems are capable of moving grain on board at 6,500 tonnes per hour, a new industry standard, the company said.
“G3 began with the vision of building a more efficient path from farmers’ fields to global markets,” said G3 president Don Chapman.
“We are very proud to see this vision become reality at G3 Terminal Vancouver.”
The company said the new facility will save western Canadian farmers time and money by moving their grain to market more quickly and efficiently. It will also ensure that overseas customers have fast and reliable access to high quality Canadian crops.
G3 Terminal Vancouver has a storage capacity of 180,000 tonnes and will handle a variety of grains and oilseeds.
Key crops will include wheat and canola destined for Asian markets, including China.
“Wheat and canola are probably our two prime commodities and I think the markets for both those commodities in Asia are no secret,” Chapman told Bloomberg in a recent interview.
“We assume China is going to be in the market for the foreseeable future, notwithstanding any hiccups that happen from time to time.”
The facility will be capable of shipping as much as eight million tonnes of grain and oilseeds annually.
That’s roughly one-third of the total grains and oilseeds that were shipped through the Port of Vancouver in the 2018-19 season.
Industry observers say it’s unlikely G3 will source enough Canadian grain to immediately use all of that export capacity itself.
Excess capacity could be offered to other Canadian grain shippers that lack their own west coast terminal facilities.
G3 had planned to hold a grand opening event at the new terminal but those plans have been set aside due to safety concerns posed by COVID-19.
“We will miss the opportunity to celebrate with our customers, partners and other guests, but ensuring health and safety is of prime importance,” Chapman said.
“Staff is working at the facility with physical distancing and hygiene measures in place.”
Construction on the facility began in March 2017.
