Nutrien Ag Solutions has announced a plan to ensure WA farmers receive their granular fertiliser for the season ahead, including a new temporary arrangement with CSBP Fertilisers.
It follows last month's industrial fire at the Kwinana Bulk Jetty which resulted in significant infrastructure damage and created a number of challenges for port users.
Nutrien Ag Solutions region director - west, Andrew Duperouzel said issues caused by the fire are not related to Nutrien's supply and availability of product, rather the availability of port infrastructure at Kwinana to safely and efficiently offload and despatch.
"The strength of Nutrien's global supply chain means we have product in our storage and in transit on ships, so our priority is finding alternative ways to get this product to our customers in a timely manner," Mr Duperouzel said.
"I am pleased to share that the first road trains have been despatched from our facility in Kwinana, marking a significant milestone in our recovery efforts."
Mr Duperouzel said their team was working around the clock to secure a range of alternate solutions to ensure continued access to granular fertiliser.
"We are progressing discussions with all relevant government stakeholders as we look to increase tonnage at our other regional WA sites and confirm additional off-site storage and blending facilities," he said.
Nutrien Ag Solutions has also reached a temporary arrangement with CSBP to address near-term offload, storage and despatch needs.
CSBP will be receiving and despatching Nutrien's imported product for two vessels that had been at Kwinana ready for discharge before the fire.
"This commercial arrangement underscores the strength of our partnerships and community, and aligns with our commitment to serve our customers' needs through this period of disruption," Mr Duperouzel said.
"The CSBP arrangement is one of a number of solutions we are confirming to ensure growers in all areas of WA have uninterrupted access to our products throughout the season.
"We are also pursuing a surge in capacity at Nutrien's other existing sites and securing new storage capacity options."
At a time when supply is front of mind for farmers, Mr Duperouzel assured growers that Nutrien was committed to ensuring farming business across the west had access to the right products and inputs - not just for this season, but in years ahead.
"We are encouraging growers to forward plan and have early conversations with their Nutrien representative about their input needs this season," he said.
"We have fertiliser on hand or in transit and are urgently confirming new arrangements to receive and despatch these products."
CSBP Fertilisers general manager Ryan Lamp said working with Nutrien during this time was the right thing to do for industry.
"With many growers across the State making preparations for seeding, it is vital the wider agricultural industry has a strong, reliable supply of fertiliser for the season ahead," Mr Lamp said.
"CSBP prides itself on reliability and is best placed to provide this support.
"It has the highest capacity facilities and team in the market, borne from many years of investment, training, and development.
"These arrangements have been carefully planned, and we look forward to working with Nutrien in the coming weeks.
"There is sufficient capacity in our system, and sensible forward planning from both CSBP and Nutrien will ensure we are able to manage the increased demand.
"To avoid congestion at despatch, we strongly encourage growers across WA to be proactive and book an appointment for collection as soon as possible."
