Quebec Port Terminal Handles Record Grain Imports

Winnipeg-based G3 has handled a record volume of grain imports at its port terminal in Trois-Rivières, QC this year – a clear sign of just how tight domestic supplies have been in wake of the 2021 Prairie drought. 

G3 has unloaded more than 160,000 tonnes of grain from ships at Trois-Rivières in 2022, “far more than the facility has ever handled in one year,” G3 said in a release last week. 

G3’s grain handling operation at Trois-Rivières is focused chiefly on loading ships for export but is also the only facility on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System able to unload grain from large Panamax ships and transfer it to truck, train, or smaller vessels. Canadian food and beverage companies unable to source enough grain domestically due to shortages caused by the drought contracted with G3 to facilitate imports from overseas, the release said. 

The facility recently unloaded 30,000 tonnes of grain from a single vessel from an overseas supplier. The release did not provide any further details of the shipment, including from where it was sourced. 

“G3’s facilities have built a reputation for fast, safe, and efficient movement of grain to worldwide markets,” said G3 CEO Don Chapman. “But we are also providing important capacity to import grain when needed.” 

The Prairie drought was the worst in recent memory, with the production of most crops slashed by at least one-third. However, better weather this year means output should return to more typical levels. The harvest of the 2022 crop is now just getting underway in all three Prairie provinces. 

In addition to “working around the clock to facilitate the big increase in imports,” the terminal at the Port of Trois-Rivières has also been receiving truckloads of corn, soybeans and other crops from Quebec farms for export, the release added.