GrainCorp’s seven east port terminals operated at near full capacity to export 4.4 million tonnes in the six months to March 30. Viterra shipped more than 5 million tonnes from SA from November to the end of May.
Bunge, which broke CBH’s monopoly on loading bulk shipments out of WA in 2014, has hit about 1.25 million tonnes a year in exports from its port terminal at Bunbury. Viterra has 55 storage sites in SA and western Victoria and six bulk grain export terminals.
Australia is forecast to export grain worth $38 billion in 2023-24, a 24 per cent fall from the past 12 months when a bumper crop and Russia’s war on Ukraine boosted shipments and prices.
A grains industry insider said the Bunge-Viterra merger was game-changing for the sector with a major global player now having a big presence in export-focused WA and SA, where a combined 13 million hectares of farmland has been planted with wheat, barley, canola and other winter crops this year.
Mr Bettles said the merged entity could consider increasing its footprint in WA, with the ports of Geraldton and Albany the most likely targets. “There’s certainly a chance they could make high-level investments to increase competition in WA,” he said.
Mr Bettles said competition regulators in Australia would cast an eye over the deal, but he did not foresee any significant hurdles given Bunge and Viterra operate ports in separate jurisdictions.
He also pointed to healthy competition from other grain traders and Australia’s Wheat Port Code of Conduct, which aims to ensure fair access and transparency for grain traders without ship loading assets.
GrainCorp has long sought to extend its reach into WA and in 2016 backed what turned out to be a failed bid to corporatise CBH, controlled by thousands of WA farmers and the biggest cooperative business in Australia.
The merger of US-based Bunge and Viterra brings together two big global agriculture trading firms with a scale to rival that of Archer Daniels Midland, which a decade ago had a $2.8 billion takeover bid for GrainCorp blocked by the Australian government, and Cargill.
Under a deal unveiled on Tuesday in the US and expected to take about 12 months to finalise, Viterra shareholders will receive about $US6.2 billion in Bunge stock and about $US2 billion in cash while Bunge will absorb $US9.8 billion of Viterra debt.
Bunge is the world’s largest oilseed processor while Viterra has oilseed crushing operations in Canada and Argentina.
The combined entity will be a major force in corn and soybean exports out of the US, where Viterra acquired another major grain trader in Gavilon last year, and Brazil.
Bunge, as the world’s top vegetable oils producer, also has partnership with oil and gas giant Chevron and chemicals giant Bayer to help meet surging demand for biofuel feedstocks.