July 9, 2025
What will Kingaroy be without the Peanut Company of Australia … owners of the iconic peanut silos in Haly Street?
Bega Group announced on Wednesday that it will conduct a “phased shutdown” of PCA operations in Kingaroy and Tolga over the next 18 months, blaming annual operating losses of between $5 million to $10 million.
The decision to wind down operations follows a strategic review of PCA operations announced more than a year ago.
Bega CEO Pete Findlay said Bega had “pursued several options” to sell the business.
“Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to secure a buyer that could sustain a long-term future for employees and growers,” Mr Findlay said.
The announcement was made in a statement to the ASX.
“We understand the impact this decision will have, and we will work closely with growers and the approximately 150 employees at the Kingaroy and Tolga facilities to support them through this period,” Mr Findlay said.
“Employees will be offered redundancies, support services and redeployment incentives and opportunities where possible.
“Some employees will be able to continue in their roles until closure.”
In August last year, Bega advised peanut growers that PCA could make no commitments beyond the current season’s crop.
Bega bought PCA’s operations in Kingaroy – which consists of the famous silos in Haly Street, shelling, sorting and roasting plants and associated facilities – in late 2017.
The ASX statement said PCA had been under “sustained financial pressure” for several years prior to its buyout by Bega.
“The peanut industry in Australia is facing a combination of headwinds including increased competition from imports, stronger returns for growers from other crops, high input costs and declining production,” the statement said.
“Despite ongoing investments made by the Bega Group into PCA’s operations, including significant upgrades to site safety and initiatives aimed at supporting local growers to boost production, Bega Group has not been able to establish a sustainable business model.
“Continued financial losses and industry challenges led to the need for the review and ultimately the conclusion that the business would be better served by a change to more local and focussed ownership or in the absence of that being achieved, unfortunately a closure.”
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Member for Nanango, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, said Bega Group’s announcement to wind down its PCA operations in Kingaroy was “a deeply disappointing blow for the community”.
Mrs Frecklington said staff, growers and the community as a whole would be affected by the decision.
“Bega is a highly profitable multinational company and this decision will devastate the local community, who have been loyal to the brand for many years,” Mrs Frecklington said.
“Kingaroy has long been synonymous with peanut growing and processing, and PCA’s processing business – and it’s heritage-listed peanut silos in Haly Street – have been an iconic local landmark for nearly a century.
“Our thoughts are with affected PCA employees and suppliers, and we trust Bega Group is providing them with the appropriate advice and support.”
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Member for Maranoa, Nationals Leader David Littleproud, said the decision to close the Kingaroy and Tolga facilities would affect about 150 employees as well as Queensland peanut growers.
“Today is a tough day for Queensland agriculture and Bega’s employees and contractors,” Mr Littleproud said.
“PCA had been processing 19,000 tonnes of Australian-grown peanuts every year in Queensland, helping not just employees but regional towns, and so we are deeply saddened by this news.”
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South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff said the closure of the Kingaroy plant would affect 135 employees locally and about 60 growers.
“We are disappointed but hopefully someone will come along and look at a different model,” she said.
She had been told the current economics “don’t add up”.
Mayor Duff said Bega representatives had arranged to meet Council on Thursday.
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PCA can trace its roots in Kingaroy back to the early years of the 20th century and the foundation peanut growers of the region.
Brothers Ben and Harry Young, of Memerambi, are widely regarded as the pioneers of the South Burnett peanut industry.
The sons of a Chinese immigrant, Ah Young, they planted their first crop in 1919.
Harry Young subsequently designed the first peanut thresher in Queensland and Ben became a director of the Peanut Marketing Board, which eventually became the Peanut Company of Australia.
PMB began operations in 1924 with a shelling machine in a small barn at Crawford owned by William Muir, the first secretary of the Board.
The operation later moved to the Kingaroy railway yards and then to PCA’s current location in Haly Street.
However, the closure of the PCA facility in Kingaroy does not mean the end of the peanut industry in the South Burnett.
G Crumpton & Sons, a third generation family-owned business, operates a major shelling and processing facility at Crawford.
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It’s a shame. The peanut factory has been an employer in Kingaroy for decades.
Hands up anyone who buys Australian peanuts?
It is a sad day, but time moves on. I wonder if the buildings could accommodate an Industrial Hemp processing facility? The Young brothers took a calculated risk over a century ago and planted the first peanuts.
I had an enquiry from a gent on the S Coast recently who enquired if there were growers of Industrial hemp in the South Burnett because he was considering building an industrial hemp processing facility in the region. I had to tell him – “Sorry, no growers yet, although I have been suggesting just that for the last ten years”.
The reaction has been underwhelming, especially from “ag people”. There have been seed trials in the area – who will take the next calculated risk and grow industrial hemp or even seed hemp?
Yeah, I know it’s complicated. There’s a licence process etc and not cheap. You can’t just chuck hemp seed in the ground. BUT … current peanut growers could start planting industrial hemp instead. Quick crop and can be a rotation crop.
I’m going to be watching this space.
What’s going to happen to the buildings? Are they going to be maintained or left to go to ruin like the Murgon meatworks? It will be an eyesore in the town centre if they are left to fall into disrepair.
This won’t bode well with the already 6% unemployment rate. I know several people who worked there and did get a redundancy package, but that won’t last forever. TBH the amount of people that lost their jobs is actually higher. It doesn’t take into account the part-time and casual positions plus the contractors that also relied on regular work. This is going to hit Kingaroy hard, but it won’t immediately feel the effects.
Hey GG, don’t be too concerned about the 6% unemployment figure; that’s just a government statistic. The fact is, there are more available jobs in the South Burnett than people willing to work. Almost every business that employs more than 5 people has employment vacancies unfilled! We need workers, not jobs.