Richardson International ships its first barley to Japan

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Last month Richardson shipped malting barley to South Africa and Colombia out of Vancouver, and it made its first shipment of feed barley to Japan this month. (JOHN LUCAS / POSTMEDIA NEWS ARCHIVES)

Winnipeg-based Richardson International Limited has shipped its first vessel of feed barley to Japan in the new open market environment — 42,500 tonnes of feed barley, which originated from Richardson Pioneer elevators in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

Loaded on the MV Mendocino and MV Coral Garnet the barley was shipped out of the Port of Prince Rupert.

Last month Richardson shipped malting barley to South Africa and Colombia out of Vancouver and the company shipped 49,000 tonnes of feed barley to Saudi Arabia in early October out of the Port of Churchill. That was the first vessel to load barley in the Port of Churchill since 1992 and the largest barley shipment ever to occur out of Churchill.

Following the enactment of the Marketing Freedom for Grains Farmers Act on August 1, company officials said Richardson has been able to further develop relationships with its overseas customers and provide access to new end-use markets for Canadian farmers. Richardson can now ship multi-commodity vessels to customers around the world, loading wheat, barley, canola and peas in combination shipments to capture freight advantages.