The latest example of this trend is Commodity Ag, owned by the Richardson family from Western Australia, who run a large farm near Perth. Farmers started their own business so as not to submit to the dictates of intermediaries and not to lose money on the sale of their own grain.
The company provides comprehensive agricultural produce transport and reloading services in the Port of Albany. The family has just sent its first ship with 20,000 tons of wheat to customers in Indonesia and is negotiating further deliveries of legumes from its plantations.
Two other farmers had previously taken a similar step: Barry Large, a farmer from Western Australia, and his colleague from Victoria, Andrew Weidemann. They founded the company LW Investments, which transports grain straight from their farms to the port in Geelong, and from there it transports the grain to the Middle East, mainly to Oman, on its own cargo ship.
Both companies see opportunities for development because other farmers trust them and want to entrust them with their grain. Farmers are increasingly uniting into groups and cooperatives to bypass intermediaries and increase the profit of their farms.
Many customers praise such cooperation because they know well the origin of the grain for which the supplier guarantees. Besides, they also make money by shortening the supply chain.
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