{"id":362437,"date":"2025-07-09T14:44:41","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T04:44:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=362437"},"modified":"2025-07-10T19:39:15","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T09:39:15","slug":"bega-shuts-down-pca","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2025\/07\/09\/bega-shuts-down-pca\/","title":{"rendered":"Bega Shuts Down PCA"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bega Group shareholders were told late last year that a review of PCA operations was still under way … the results of that review were announced on Wednesday<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 9, 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

What will Kingaroy be without the Peanut Company of Australia … owners of the iconic peanut silos in Haly Street?<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The decision to wind down operations follows a strategic review of PCA operations announced more than a year ago.<\/p>\n

Bega CEO Pete Findlay said Bega had “pursued several options” to sell the business.<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, we’ve been unable to secure a buyer that could sustain a long-term future for employees and growers,” Mr Findlay said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The announcement was made in a statement to the ASX.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“Employees will be offered redundancies, support services and redeployment incentives and opportunities where possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Some employees will be able to continue in their roles until closure.”<\/p>\n

In August last year, Bega advised peanut growers that PCA could make no commitments beyond the current season’s crop.<\/p>\n

Bega bought PCA\u2019s operations in Kingaroy \u2013 which consists of the famous silos in Haly Street, shelling, sorting and roasting plants and associated facilities \u2013 in late 2017.<\/p>\n

The ASX statement said PCA had been under “sustained financial pressure” for several years prior to its buyout by Bega.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

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Attorney-General Deb Frecklington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Member for Nanango, Attorney-General Deb Frecklington, said Bega Group\u2019s announcement to wind down its PCA operations in Kingaroy was “a deeply disappointing blow for the community”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington said staff, growers and the community as a whole would be affected by the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cBega is a highly profitable multinational company and this decision will devastate the local community, who have been loyal to the brand for many years,\u201d Mrs Frecklington said.<\/p>\n

\u201cKingaroy has long been synonymous with peanut growing and processing, and PCA\u2019s processing business \u2013 and it\u2019s heritage-listed peanut silos in Haly Street \u2013 have been an iconic local landmark for nearly a century.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur thoughts are with affected PCA employees and suppliers, and we trust Bega Group is providing them with the appropriate advice and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

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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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cToday is a tough day for Queensland agriculture and Bega\u2019s employees and contractors,\u201d Mr Littleproud said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPCA 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kathy Duff (Photo: Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

South Burnett Mayor Kathy Duff said the closure of the Kingaroy plant would affect 135 employees locally and about 60 growers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We are disappointed but hopefully someone will come along and look at a different model,” she said.<\/p>\n

She had been told the current economics “don’t add up”.<\/p>\n

Mayor Duff said Bega representatives had arranged to meet Council on Thursday.<\/p>\n

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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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brothers Ben and Harry Young, of Memerambi, are widely regarded as the pioneers of the South Burnett peanut industry.<\/p>\n

The sons of a Chinese immigrant, Ah Young, they planted their first crop in 1919.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The operation later moved to the Kingaroy railway yards and then to PCA’s current location in Haly Street.<\/p>\n

However, the closure of the PCA facility in Kingaroy does not mean the end of the peanut industry in the South Burnett.<\/strong><\/p>\n

G Crumpton & Sons, a third generation family-owned business, operates a major shelling and processing facility at Crawford.<\/p>\n

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