Charlie Sullivan is excited to be part of agriculture’s online revolution, as the corporate development manager with NZX Agri.
NZX Limited operates the New Zealand securities exchange, as well as being a publicly listed business on that exchange. Its NZX Agri arm is an online and hard copy publisher of information, news and data relating to the agriculture sectors in NZ and Australia.
Since 2009, the business has purchased three Australian grain markets associated businesses, including pricing and analytics subscription businesses ProFarmer Australia and Australian Crop Forecasters, and electronic grain trading platform the Clear Grain Exchange, Australia’s only provider of online trading and clearing services of Australian grain.
Mr Sullivan has been with the growing company for 12 months, and as this goes to print is underway with the harvest selling period for the 15/16 winter crops.
“Harvest, or our primary selling season, goes for about six months from October and once it gets into full swing, the team is full-time servicing both the growers and the trade,” the 30 year-old said.
“We had a record number of buyers last year, so they’re ready and waiting for the growers to come on – our buyers include multinational businesses as well as domestic end users including feedlots, dairies, millers and stock feed manufacturers.
“Because Clear Grain Exchange is a secure, online exchange, buyers can be local, national or even international.”
Because Clear Grain Exchange is a secure, online exchange, buyers can be local, national or even international
Mr Sullivan said it was exciting to be part of a growing business that had a small, young and dynamic team, which could be part of a paradigm shift in agriculture.
“The business has enormous potential to be part of what could be a huge change in the industry, the number of exchanges being made online has been growing quite steadily, but there will be a tipping point where online is more widely adopted by farmers and those along the supply chain as safe and the accepted way to do business,” he said.
Mr Sullivan grew up on sheep and cattle farms in NSW. He was born at Molong, 35km west of Orange, and the family’s main farming business is at Brewarrina in north-west NSW.
He worked on the family farm for five years, before going to Marcus Oldham College at Geelong, where he completed an Associate Degree in Agribusiness.
“I chose to study and pursue agribusiness because it’s challenging and exciting, and the old cliché – I like agriculture and farming and the people in the supply chain, and I like business, so it brings the two together,” Mr Sullivan said.
He has since consulted to a number of start-up businesses, including a successful seafood importing business. He enjoys agribusiness development and management.
