Partner Article

Shipment boost for Sunderland Port

Activity at the Port of Sunderland has been boosted by an enormous grain shipment which finished loading last weekend.

Carrying 2,500 metric tonnes of oilseed rape (OSR) aboard the ship MV Arklow Sea, the project has seen the first departure from Sunderland Port for company Frontier Agriculture.

The ship is destined for Cargill’s seed crushing plant in Antwerp.

Andrew Wilkin, a farm trader for Frontier, said:

“This year has seen a bumper rape harvest, with yields well up on average. This means that finding profitable markets for OSR has presented additional challenges.

“However, our trading team has done a great job to access overseas markets and ensure timely movement of crop from farm, whilst still achieving a good price.”

Recent wet weather in Europe is thought to be the cause of lower than usual OSR yields which have pushed up demand across Europe, and in Germany in particular.

In this context, crop inputs and grain marketing business Frontier Agriculture are now using export facilities at the Port of Sunderland along with facilities at other UK ports.

Matthew Hunt, Director of the Port of Sunderland, said:

“There’s a history and tradition of Sunderland being a part of these long-established North Sea commodity trades and it’s good to see that continuing with the loading and sailing of the MV Arklow Sea.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .