Rice is a vital crop for the Australian economy. It is estimated that, for every $1 of rice production, $4 in flow-on economic activity is generated.[1]
At Port of Melbourne, Australia’s largest general cargo and container port, rice represents an important export commodity. It is the 12th largest export in terms of overseas export tonnage, with approximately 237,000 tonnes of rice exiting the Port in FY24.
From an overseas container export perspective, rice ranked 25th in FY24. In this period, 9,865 TEU (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) of rice were exported through Port of Melbourne – a notable increase of more than 620 per cent since FY21, during which rice exports experienced poor seasonal conditions
Benefitting from good growing seasons over the last three years, the volume of rice exports has experienced significant improvement. This growth is also a result of the hard work of our rice growers, as well as improving industry productivity and successful expansion of international markets by Australian rice exporter, SunRice.
As such, Port of Melbourne was honoured to present the Highest Yield Awards at the 2024 Rice Industry Awards in Moama, Victoria, on 31 July. This highly contested category consisted of five awards, of which the well-deserved winners were:
- Crop Year (CY)24 Port of Melbourne Highest Yield (Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area): Allawah Family Trust
- CY24 Port of Melbourne Highest Yield C.I.A (Coleambally Irrigation Area): Fred and Kathy Hibbert of FW G & FW Hibbert
- Doug Hatty of Mardenoora Farming Pty Ltd
- CY24 Port of Melbourne Highest Yield Overall: Allawah Family Trust
David Andrighetto, Director of the Allawah Family Trust, said:
“I’ve been toiling away for years now and it’s great to be finally recognised. I’ve grown good crops before, but this one was my highest. That’s what we set out to do: to get the most yield as we possibly can. At the end of the day, yield is king.”
The uptick in rice exports comes shortly after the Port announced a historic milestone in another agriculture export. Port of Melbourne Head of Business Development, Leatrice Treharne, said:
“In FY24, rice export volumes were the highest in six years, having recorded a peak of 12,443 TEU in FY18. Also in FY24, we saw grain exports hit an all-time high – 3.37 million metric tonnes of grains were exported through the Port, representing the Port’s largest export commodity.”
“Agriculture products stand as Australia’s largest export commodity, constituting seven of the Port’s top ten container export commodities. As the key trade gateway for Southeastern Australia, Port of Melbourne is deeply committed to supporting the agricultural sector.”
Port of Melbourne was a proud Gold Sponsor of Rice Extension’s 2024 Rice Industry Awards on 31 July, supported by SunRice, AgriFutures, and the Ricegrowers’ Association of Australia (RGA).
[1] The Rice Regions (rga.org.au)
For more information contact:
Nicole Ng
Mobile: 0427 700 844
Email: nicole.ng@portofmelbourne.com