Nutrien Ag Solutions has confirmed the first road trains of granular fertiliser from their bulk storage facility at Kwinana, WA, have now been dispatched, marking a significant milestone in recovery efforts, after a fire last month.
Nutrien Ag Solutions managing director Kelly Freeman recently inspected the warehouse, which suffered significant structural damage in the blaze at Kwinana Bulk Jetty.
Mr Freeman said the company's WA-based team was working around the clock to ensure any impact to customers across the state was minimised.
"We know how important fertiliser is and how critical this timing is for growers in WA," Mr Freeman said.
"As such, we are progressing our contingency plans for how we receive, blend and despatch granular fertiliser this season.
"We have plenty of product on ships and in storage, so our priority is confirming ways to safely and efficiently offload and dispatch."
Mr Freeman said Nutrien Ag Solutions' recent vessel carrying Bulk N was unloaded two weeks ago.
He thanked customers for their patience and staff who were committed to the task at hand.
It took 10 hours to bring the fire, which started at Kwinana Bulk Jetty on February 9, under control.
More than 270 personnel responded to the incident including career and volunteer firefighters and State Emergency Services volunteers, supported by firefighting aircraft.
As a precautionary measure, 11 people were safely evacuated from the site.
The conveyor system, which was damaged in the fire, is critical to maximising storage and efficiency of port infrastructure.
Without it, Nutrien Ag Solutions region director - west, Andrew Duperouzel said storage capacity and supply chain efficiency would reduce.
Mr Duperouzel last month said Nutrien was working very closely with Fremantle Ports Authority, who own the asset, to ensure repair and replacement works could be prioritised.
However, this was not a quick fix.
In the meantime, Nutrien's four other WA-based storage depots at Geraldton, Albany, Esperance and Henderson, have been operating as usual.
Separately, its Liquid Bulk N fertiliser storage and chemical manufacturing (Genfarm) facilities were not affected.
Last Friday, a Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesperson told Farm Weekly the cause of the blaze was still under investigation.
