ECGC offloads largest ever shipment of grain to SVG

The East Caribbean Group of Companies (ECGC) this week imported its largest ever shipment of grain.

And a release from the Campden Park-based company said its all part of their ongoing transformation and the pursuit of plant excellence and commercial agility which forms part of ECGC’s efforts to provide supply reliability and price stability in its markets.

The 13,000 metric tonne (MT) capacity vessel, MV SIDER TYRONA anchored at ECGC’s dock at Campden Park, carrying a shipment of wheat, soya, and corn, which is a 34% increase over the company’s last shipment in June this year.

Chief Executive Office (CEO) of ECGC, J. Robert Cato said, “We have made a promise to our business and our customers that we 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.”

ECGC said it 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.

Cato said, “To be the most reliable supplier of flour, feeds and rice in the OECS (Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States), 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,” the ECGC CEO added. “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.”

This latest purchase guarantees that ECGC will be able to maintain a steady supply and cost efficiencies, allowing the largest supplier of flour in the OECS sub-region to maintain price stability on flour and animal feeds to its customers. For every wheat vessel arrival, the value of the grain cargo can be as much as EC$15 million.

The company said it 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.