Quebec-based farm co-operative La Coop Fédérée is planning to build a $90 million grain transfer terminal at the Port of Quebec in Quebec City.
The company said the new terminal will have annual export capacity of 1.3 million tonnes and ship Canadian grain primarily to European and Asian markets.
The terminal’s location on the St. Lawrence Seaway will offer easy access to grain arriving by road, rail and water.
Grain shipped through the facility will originate primarily in Ontario and Quebec, but it could also handle prairie grain, including crops that are shipped via laker-sized vessels from the Port of Thunder Bay in Ontario.
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“Our mission is to support local farmers by offering, in particular, structured opportunities for their production,” said Sébastien Léveillé, executive vice-president of agri-business at La Coop Fédérée.
“We know that this new terminal will be a driver of prosperity for Canadian farming families because it will increase storage capacity and open up new export markets.”
The agri-business division of La Coop Fédérée has many years of experience in the management, transportation and marketing of grain, the company said in a news release.
The terminal project will consolidate grain handling activities in the Port of Quebec, specifically in the Anse au Foulon area, where La Coop has operated a grain distribution centre for nearly 30 years.
“With a new export terminal, Canadian grain producers know that there will be an even more promising return on their investment in equipment and acreage,” Léveillé said.
The investment will have a positive impact on the entire Canadian agricultural industry, he added.
The Québec government and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ are partners in the terminal project.
The project will be subject to a public consultation process later this month.
Development work will begin once approved by the Québec Port Authority.
Construction is slated to take place in four phases with Phase 1 beginning this summer.
Details of the different phases of construction can be viewed at www.terminalgrains.coop/en.
La Coop Fédérée is the largest agri-food enterprise in Quebec and the 24th largest agri-food co-operative in the world.
It has 120,000 members and operates across Canada under trade names that include Olymel, Flamingo, Lafleur, La Coop, Elite, Agromart, BMR, Unimat, Agrizone and Potvin & Bouchard.
Including its affiliated network, La Coop Fédérée has nearly 18,000 employees and consolidated revenue of $9.2 billion.
