Cargill to restart, upgrade Narrabri crush facilities

Cargill will upgrade and restart its Narrabri West plant as part of a wider plan to expand the company’s oilseed crush capabilities.

The company will invest $73 million across its three facilities in Narrabri, Newcastle and Footscray.

Announcing its plans last week, Cargill said the investment will help it cater to the rising demand from customers for canola and cottonseed products and provide Australian farmers with further access to global markets.

“Australian canola is in high demand globally for its use across food products, bio diesel and as a feed stock,” the company said in a statement late last week.

“With canola production on the rise, Cargill, a key supplier of high-grade canola oil to customers in Australia and Asia, is investing to expand its crush capacity and increase production of canola oil and meal as well as cottonseed oil and meal.”

“This includes an upgrade and restart of Cargill’s Narrabri plant which has been modified into a dedicated cottonseed dehulling plant,” Cargill’s statement read.

“The hulls from Narrabri will cater to domestic feedstock markets and cottonseed meats will be transported to Newcastle where it will be further processed into oil and meal.”

The Narrabri upgrades will lead to five jobs being created.

Cargill hopes to have its Narrabri West plant operational for the next cotton season.

Leading up to the decision, the company has been conducting trials which have delivered positive results.

Cargill’s plant in Newcastle is also being upgraded to enable the crush of cotton seed, along with existing processing capacity of canola.

“This will significantly increase the plant’s total crush capacity. Other plant upgrades include improvements in oilseed processing equipment to serve the increased throughput and the cottonseed meal product, higher transport efficiencies and improving farmer delivery experience.”

Zsolt Kocza, managing director of Cargill Agriculture Supply Chain in Australia and south and south-east Asia, said the company plays a major role in connecting farmers, and customers to the food and ingredients they need.

“This investment in increasing our crush capacity will help Cargill better serve the growing demand for canola and cottonseed products from customers both in Australia and across Asia,” Mr Kocza said.

“It will also connect Australian farmers to international markets, creating more demand for locally grown canola.”

The major export destinations for canola oil are China, Vietnam and New Zealand. With this investment, Cargill also expects to be able to supply new domestic customers with cotton seed hulls and oil.

The Narrabri plant shut down in November 2018 due to a reduction in affordable cottonseed supply brought on by the drought and high operating and energy costs.

Cargill said at the time it was discontinuing operations ‘for the foreseeable future’ due to the changing landscape of the cottonseed market. Cargill has long been a key element in the economic fabric of the district since the 1960s, a major employer and significant processor in the North West’s cotton and oilseeds industry.

Cargill was a valued corporate citizen which traditionally played a big role in community support of local organisations.