VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA — GrainsConnect Canada, GrainCorp’s joint venture with Zen-Noh Grain Corp., has agreed to a 50-50 partnership with Parrish & Heimbecker (P&H) in the Fraser Grain Terminal at the Port of Vancouver.

The Fraser Grain Terminal will connect GrainsConnect Canada’s high-capacity country delivery points directly to export markets, which the company said will create “a fully integrated, high-speed and end-to-end supply chain for the company in western Canada.”

As part of the partnership, GrainCorp will invest C$35 million over the next two years to support construction of the new terminal. The joint ventures will continue to source additional funding from financial institutions.

Construction on the Fraser Grain Terminal is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.

Exports of Canadian grain and specialty crops to growing markets in China and Southeast Asia continue to increase. P&H said the new export facility will address two major constraints — limited western Canada rail capacity, and a shortage of port industrial land for grain handling. P&H has secured a long-term lease with the port authority for the site. Once complete, Fraser Grain Terminal (FGT) will provide 4 million tonnes of terminal capacity per year.

The new terminal will have modern storage facilities, three shiploaders equipped with dust-reducing technology, and a fully-enclosed above ground conveying system with built-in dust suppression.

GrainsConnect was incorporated in Canada in 2015 and operates four rapid, high capacity country grain elevators: Vegreville and Huxley in Alberta, and Maymont and Reford in Saskatchewan.

P&H is a Canadian, family owned agri-business, with roots in the agriculture industry for more than 100 years. Founded in 1909, P&H’s operations include grain trading, handling and merchandising, as well as crop inputs, flour milling and feed mills.