Contributed by Mr Richard Li, Executive Director & Manager of Materials & Procurement Dept, Summit Rural (WA ) Pty Ltd

July 2021

Australia

Summit Rural (WA) has recently broken 2 consecutive monthly dispatch records for fertiliser.

In May, Summit Rural dispatched 120,500 metric tonnes (MT), which surpassed the previous monthly high of 109,500 MT set in March 2020 as COVID-19 pandemic led to concerns about security of fertiliser supply.

This record didn’t last long however, with an incredible 129,200 MT being reached in June 2021, the highest ever recorded in a single month during the company’s 32-year history.

With 11 days of the seasonal year still to go (August 2020 to July 2021), Summit has already supplied 608,159 MT of fertiliser to farmers across Western Australia (WA), which was far and above last year’s result of 523,711 MT.

Part of the reason behind such unprecedented demand for fertiliser can be attributed to excellent seasonal conditions. Large areas of the WA agricultural area received high levels of summer and autumn rainfall, which allowed early crop establishment and set up farmers early in the growing season for higher yields. This has continued through to winter, with above average rainfall during July. Combined with high crop prices (especially for canola), farmers have been looking to increase their soil nutrient levels to meet the potential for higher yields and profit.

Coping with such a large increase in demand amid the global COVID-19 pandemic has provided unique challenges across the business, particularly in the Operations department, which has coped admirably with the greatly increased workload with no notable external assistance. Special acknowledgement must also be given to the Summit Sales and Marketing team for this fantastic result, which has recently faced increased competition from new suppliers in the market such as CBH and Nutrien.

This record-breaking year has only be made possible by the dedication and commitment from all employees of Summit Rural WA.

Summit Fertilizers Kwinana Depot

In Boundain, Western Australia during Summit Field Tour in Aug 2021.
Behind me was a vast stretch of canola field