The East Caribbean Group of Companies says it has increased a record 13,000 metric tonne of grain as part of its ongoing transformation and the pursuit of plant excellence and commercial agility.
The shipment of wheat, soya, and corn, 34% increase over the June 2022 import, arrived at the company’s dock in Campden Park this week aboard MV SIDER TYRONA.
ECGC’s chief executive, J. Robert Cato said the company has promised its business and our customers that it will be “the most reliable supplier” in the OECS.
“This increase in grain shipment size represents a shift in how we plan and execute our grain procurement strategy to support supply assurance. We are purchasing with a higher level of market intelligence, sound trading advice based on superior analytics, and an intense focus on the commodities markets,” Cato said.
ECGC employs hedging in grain futures, where the company buys forward to ensure that it covers the most favourable grain prices available for its production needs.
This offers the company some protection in the eventuality of market spikes and cost changes, as prices are locked in previously.
“To be the most reliable supplier of flour, feed and rice in the OECS, we continue working at getting two things right, supply chain reliability and storage capacity, so simultaneously we are investing in larger grain storage capacity at our plants. More storage capacity means we can take bigger ships, and bigger ships mean that we save on freight cost, ultimately this creates a better price for customers,” Cato said.
This latest purchase guarantees that ECGC will be able to maintain steady supply and cost efficiencies, allowing the largest supplier of flour in the OECS subregion to maintain price stability on Flour and Animal Feeds to its customers.
With every wheat vessel that arrives, the value of the grain cargo can be as much as EC$15 million.
“ECGC sources the highest quality wheat available from Kansas in the USA, which travels across the USA by rail down to Louisiana and is then shipped to ECGC’s dock facilities in Campden Park,” the company said.