At the Port of Hamilton on Lake Ontario, grain products are loaded onto vessels and rail cars destined for G3’s facilities in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River. Canada’s leading Great Lakes port, Hamilton, is poised for bigger things in its fast-growing agribusiness sector thanks to a recently-announced C$50 million investment in a year-round terminal by Winnipeg-based G3 Canada Ltd. that will ship grains and oilseeds grown in southern Ontario for export to world markets. The 50,000 metric ton capacity facility is slated for completion prior to the 2017 harvest.
Now under construction, the new terminal will be competing with two agribusiness enterprises with established operations at the port – Richardson International and Parrish & Heimbecker.
“Direct access to the Great Lakes/Seaway system means the port is ideally located for agri-food exporters,” states Bruce Wood, president and CEO of the Hamilton Port Authority.
The Port of Hamilton handled 10.5 million metric tons of cargo last year, with agri-food tonnage accounting for more than 20 per cent.
G3 Canada is the successor to the Canadian Wheat Board, formerly a Canadian government-owned Crown Corporation, with part ownership stakes held by Bunge Canada and the Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company.
The company’s assets range from inland grain and deepsea port terminals stretching from Leader, Saskatchewan to Quebec City to Great Lakes grain transport vessels and a fleet of grain hopper cars.
According to G3, “the vertical integration of these assets along the agricultural commodity chain forms the basis of a smarter path from Canadian fields to global markets.”
The grain products will be loaded from the Lake Ontario port onto Great Lakes vessels and rail cars destined for G3’s facilities in Quebec City and Trois-Rivières on the St. Lawrence River where they will be transferred onto ocean vessels heading to Europe and other overseas markets. As a result of the connection with Canada’s two major railways, shipments are not interrupted when the St. Lawrence Seaway closes during the winter months.
Brett Malkoske, G3 vice-president of business development, stresses the choice of the Port of Hamilton for the project significantly broadens the national reach of the G3 group.“
The Port of Hamilton,” he says, “is the largest, and from our perspective, one of the best maintained ports in Southern Ontario. It has certain logistical advantages from an export perspective that other ports on the western side of Southern Ontario would not enjoy due to the proximity to the St. Lawrence. The site has excellent access not only to the water but to rail and highway, which is critically important due to the nature of our inbound deliveries – most of which are expected by truck.”
Malkoske underlines the ongoing important role played by the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence System for exporting grains and oilseeds. “While trade with Asia (in media reports) garners most of the headlines, the Seaway continues to play a critical role in Canada’s grain export chain, and in most cases sees approximately 25% of all of Canada’s grain exports pass through it.”
Karl Gerrand, chief executive officer of G3, says the new terminal is “part of a vision to create a coast-to-coast grain enterprise. Grain exports from Southern Ontario have been increasing for some time now. We look forward to expanding our relationship with farmers in the province, and will work to establish G3 as the partner of choice in marketing their grain.”
Gerrand affirms that combined with the existing facilities in Trois-Rivières and Quebec City and the company’s extensive marketing connections, “G3 will present a very competitive new option for Ontario farmers.”
Aerial view of the Port of Hamilton on Lake Ontario.
