SA’s first transhipment port offers alternative to grain growers

An Australian investor “bullish” on agriculture has tipped $40m into refinancing a South Australian grain port.

South Australia’s first transhipment port has been developed at Lucky Bay on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula, offering an alternative supply channel for grain growers.

The port includes a shallow-water port, grain storage bunkers and a self-discharging transhipment vessel, which is used to transport grain from the port to an ocean-going vessel at sea.

The port is backed by $40 million in refinancing from Australian fund manager Merricks Capital. The port was developed by ICAM Duxton Port Infrastructure Trust and is operated by T-Ports.

IDPIT chair Rob Chapman said T-Ports was looking to grow its cohort of about 300 South Australian grain growers.

MV Lucky Eyre being loaded with barley for export at T-Ports Lucky Bay port on Eyre Peninsula. Picture: Mark Thomas/Missing Link Media.

Meanwhile Merricks Capital chief executive Adrian Redlich said the fund manager was looking to grow its investment portfolio in Australian agriculture.

Mr Redlich said the IDPIT was a prime example of its lending strategy, which was “bullish” on Australian agriculture, Mr Redlich said.

“Our investment represents the intersection of our strategy, capital and experience in financing strategically important agricultural supply chain assets,” he said.

The investment follows the launch of the Merricks Capital Agriculture Credit Fund in June 2021, which has raised close to $200 million since its launch.

“Currently, banks have a 95 per cent market share of the $A150 billion agriculture lending sector in Australia and New Zealand but traditional lenders have struggled to understand the cyclical nature of agriculture and manage this against their inflexible capital structures.”

“Merricks is bullish about the long-term prospects of the agriculture industry. Over the last twelve months, we have deployed over $1bn across the agriculture supply chain and as we move into 2022, we continue to seek opportunities to partner with Australian and New Zealand agribusinesses.”