Cargill restarts Westwego, Louisiana, grain export terminal after Ida

CHICAGO: Global grain trader Cargill Inc restarted its Westwego, Louisiana, grain export terminal and on Monday unloaded its first grain barge since Ida shuttered the facility two weeks ago, the company said on Tuesday.

Power was also restored to Cargill’s heavily damaged terminal in Reserve, Louisiana, but the company is still assessing damages from the storm and developing “phased reopening plans,” Cargill spokeswoman April Nelson said.

The company is monitoring rains from Tropical Storm Nicholas on Tuesday, the second major storm to hit the region in recent weeks, but it has not yet impacted recovery efforts, Nelson said.

Cargill is the latest major grain trader to revive export operations after Ida devastated the region’s power grid and damaged some of the nearly dozen grain terminals dotted along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to the Gulf of Mexico.