The facility will be able to store 70,000 tons beginning this fall
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A new grain terminal under construction at the Port of Quebec will give producers a chance to create their own export program.
La Coop fédérée is investing $90 million into the terminal, which will see local growers regain some control over their grain exports.
“We’re very happy about this,” Sébastien Léveillé, vice-president of agribusiness with La Coop, told Farms.com today. “We’re owned by farmers and we wanted to create (added) value on their farms. When we market grain across Canada we’re exporting through third parties, so this grain terminal will allow us to come up with our own export program for some of the grain we market for farmers.”
The new terminal will allow for the export of about 1.3 million metric tons of grain per year, valued at about $450 million. The facility will also support more than 60 jobs.
La Coop’s terminal sits on both CN and CP rail lines, so grain can be brought in from across the country.
The organization also feels the facility is a perfect fit for Canadian farmers as it is located along the St. Lawrence Seaway.
“It’s great for local grain producers and for grain to be coming in from Western Canada and Ontario,” Léveillé said. “It’s just a perfect fit logistically.”
Léveillé provided information on two of the four phases that make up the terminal’s construction schedule.
The first phase of construction includes 70,000 tons of grain storage as of this fall, with vessels exporting grain during that time. La Coop expects the grain terminal to be fully operational in 2021, he said.
La Coop fédérée photo