Photo courtesy of Agrocorp.
Associated Grain operates four plants in the vicinity of Dalby with a cumulative storage capacity of 25,000 tonnes. The facilities also have the ability to handle 200,000 tonnes a year. Associated Grain’s product portfolio includes pulses such as chickpea, mung bean and faba beans as well as cereals like wheat and barley. The company also has a Chanadal production plant and a growing seeds processing and distribution business.
Agrocorp said the acquisition of Associated Grain is part of its “twin strategy” to expand its processing business and access more of the value chain, as well as to consolidate its leadership in the pulses industry.
“Global interest in cultivating and consuming pulses is fast growing with the U.N. having declared 2016 to be the international year of pulses,” Agrocorp said. “Pulses are the edible seeds of plants in the legume family and includes products such as chickpea, dry pea, pigeon pea, lentils and mung bean. Most of these are staple foods in South Asian diets but consumption has been on the rise in other regions as well in which pulses are seen as a healthy and affordable source of protein and fibers, often as an alternative to meat and dairy.”
Agrocorp said adding Associated Grain’s operations will allow it to procure grains directly from the farmers as well as supply them with seed ahead of the planting season.
Agrocorp first entered the process business through the launch of its subsidiary in Canada, Agrocorp Processing, in 2012. Agrocorp Processing has since grown to owning and operating four pulse and wheat processing facilities in Canada, and recently opened a rice mill in Myanmar in May. Additional plant construction is planned over the next year in Canada, India and Bangladesh.
Under terms of the acquisition, Agrocorp said it has committed to new infrastructure with an additional 2,400 tonnes of silo storage capacity being built. The company also has committed to R&D projects to develop new seed varieties in collaboration with a research institute in Queensland.
Associated Grain’s management will remain intact, and all 53 employees will be retained following the transaction, Agrocorp said.
Agrocorp International is a global agri commodity trading business founded in Singapore in 1990. The company has offices in 14 countries, including Canada, China, Turkey, India, Ivory Coast, Myanmar and now Australia. In 2017, Agrocorp moved 9 million tonnes across commodities such as grains, pulses, sugar, oilseeds, cashews and cotton, and generated sales revenue of more than $3 billion.
