ONE of the largest shipments of grain to ever leave the UK has been loaded at the Port of Tyne.

GrainCo, the largest grain trading and marketing business in the North of England and Scotland, spent nearly seven days loading more than 60,000 tonnes of barley on board the giant Rosco Poplar bulk cargo vessel which has a maximum capacity of 68,000 tonnes.

Gary Bright, GrainCo managing director, said it was one of the largest grain shipments to ever leave the UK. He said: "The UK barley market is bucking the global trend with increased supplies of good quality barley available – around 2,310 truckloads will be loaded and the ability to export in such large vessels increases export opportunities from the local and wider region."

The barley was from farms in an area stretching from Dundee to Doncaster. It was bound for Saudi Arabia to be used as animal feed and follows an earlier shipment of 33,000 tonnes to Kuwait.

GrainCo is a part of Tynegrain, the North's leading grain drying and storage co-operative, and owned by more than 100 farmers in the North-East and Scotland

The vessel was loaded through Tynegrain's direct loading shiploader which operated at 800 tonnes an hour, combined with the Port of Tyne's Gottwald cranes. They achieved a loading rate of more than 12,000 tonnes a day.

Mr Bright said demand from domestic consumption had been poor for barley which had led to them seeking export markets for the surplus crop. The dock's deep berth had allowed them to continue to win large volume sales which had helped support the barley market price in the North of England and Scotland.

A further shipment of 25,000 tonnes of barley has been contracted for later in the season.

Steven Harrison, chief operating officer for the Port of Tyne, said: "The Port of Tyne has invested heavily in handling equipment for a variety of dry bulk cargoes and it is good to see grain as a commodity experiencing this resurgence."!