Koole acquires Alkion Terminals

TRANSPORT NEWS

Koole acquires Alkion Terminals

Independent vegetable oils and fats storage, processing and logistics company Koole Terminals announced on 30 July that it had acquired Dutch bulk liquid storage operator Alkion Terminals in a deal expected to close by the end of the year.

Alkion operates nine terminals in France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, with a storage capacity of 1.2Mm3 and plans to increase capacity for biofuels and chemical products.

Zaandam-headquartered Koole operates 11 terminals in Europe – in the Netherlands, Poland and the UK – and has a total storage capacity of 4.1Mm3 .

Its Pernis terminal in Rotterdam port has a storage capacity of 675,000m3 for vegetable oils and fats, oleochemicals, base oils, waxes, biodiesel and easy chemicals, according to Koole’s website. In Amsterdam port, it has a storage facility for oils and fats, consisting of around 100 storage tanks ranging in size from 60m3-1,400m3, as well as for oleochemicals, biodiesel and waxes.

At the inland terminal of RIHO Dodewaard, which Koole acquired in 2019, the company has some 20,000m3 ofstorage capacity for vegetable oils, fats and glycerine, and for soya, sunflower and canola lecithin.

Koole’s Nijmegen terminal located near the German border also handles vegetable oils and fats, oleochemicals, base oils, waxes, biodiesel and easy chemicals.

In Poland, Koole’s Gdynia terminal handles molasses; soyabean, canola and palm oils; fatty acids; chemicals and fuels.

In the UK, Koole’s Regent Road terminal at the Port of Liverpool handles vegetable oils and fats and chemicals, while its terminal at the Port of Avonmouth handles agricultural products, molasses, chemicals, fertilisers, and vegetable oils and fats.

IN BRIEF

UKRAINE: On 2 August, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced a new US$40M project to tackle grain storage in Ukraine. Funded by Canada, the initiative would allow storage of an additional 2.4M tonnes of grain between 2022-2023, along with related technical support and equipment.

The project follows earlier US$17M funding by the Japanese government to cover 1M tonnes of grain storage.

According to the Ukrainian government, of the country’s total storage capacity of 75M tonnes, 14% of facilities are damaged or destroyed, 10% are in Russian-occupied territories and around 30% remain filled with 22M tonnes of last year’s harvest,

The FAO Grain Storage Support Strategy aims to cover 4.07M tonnes or 25% of the total estimated storage deficit of 16M tonnes in 2022/23. Temporary and fixed grain storage solutions including polyethylene grain sleeves, would be supplied, along with loading and unloading machinery, and longer-term modular storage units, targeting small and medium-sized farms in 15 regions, the FAO said.

Low Yangtze River levels threaten crops

Water levels on China’s Yangtze River have hit their lowest level on record, threatening crop development during the key harvest period, AgriCensus reported the country’s National Meteorological Observatory as saying.

The water level of the Yangtze and lakes in its flood basin was 4.7m-5.7m lower than the average level of the year due to high temperatures and low rainfall, the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) said.

The prolonged drought threatened the autumn harvest, as the Yangtze River basin was one of China’s major grain-producing regions, contributing nearly half of the country’s crop output, AgriCensus wrote on 15 August. The total planted area affected by the drought in Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing and Sichuan provinces reached 644,667ha, according to a drought report published by the MWR on 11 August.

The Yangtze River basin is one of China’s main grain-producing regions

Brazil’s largest ag port terminal to be formed

Brazilian port terminal Corredor Logística e Infraestrutura (CLI) is set to acquire 80% of Brazilian bulk sugar and grain terminal Elevações Portuárias (EPSA) in Santos, following an investment by Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V (MIP V).

The deal would result in the largest independent agriculture port terminal in Brazil, MIP V – an infrastructure fund managed by Australia’s Macquarie Asset Management, said on 18 July.

The remaining 20% share in EPSA would be retained by Brazilian railroad operator Rumo.

On completion of the deal, MIP V would hold a 50% stake in CLI, with CLI’s current owner holding the remainder.

“This new phase for CLI… will [see it] grow from its current 4M tonnes of export shipping capacity to more than 20M tonnes,” said CLI CEO Hélcio Tokeshi.

CLI is one of four companies operating the Maranhão Grain Terminal (TEGRAM) in the Port of Itaqui, one of the largest grain and oilseed terminals in Brazil.

The Port of Itaqui, together with the Ponta da Madeira and Porto da Alumar Terminal, make up the Maranhão Port Complex, the largest in Brazil in cargo volume, according to the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS).

Itaqui port was the fifth largest port in Brazil in terms of cargo volume capacity, serving grain and soyabean markets, with the port moving some 10M tonnes of soyabeans in 2020, the RTRS said.

Located in the Bay of San Marcos, San Luis, Maranhão, the Port of Itaqui’s geographical location provided competitive advantages – compared to ports in Brazil’s south and southeast – as access time to major foreign markets such as Asia, Europe and North America was reduced by up to five days, the RTRS added.