Cefetra Ltd, the largest agricultural trading company in Scotland, has signed a long-term contract with Forth Ports to use the Port of Rosyth and turn it into a major “agri-hub.”

“Under the agreement Forth Ports will develop the Port of Rosyth to provide Cefetra with an unparalleled, purpose-built facility,” said Forth Ports.

“This will become the main Agri-hub in Scotland, handling an extensive range of agricultural products.”

Forth Ports said Rosyth’s location, logistical links to the motorway network and its “advantages in short sea freight” make it ideally suited to supply Scotland, Northern England and continental Europe.

“The Port of Rosyth will be deepened to provide a true deep-water port capable of taking vessels carrying up to 50,000 tonnes of cargo,” added Forth Ports.

“The existing storage facilities will be enhanced with the addition of a new, extensive, purpose built agricultural products terminal, increasing the storage capacity to circa 100k tonnes.”

Cefetra MD Andrew Mackay said: “We are pleased to have been able to reach this agreement with Forth Ports and believe that the new Rosyth Agri-hub will enable us to continue to serve our valued customers.

“We expect to increase the efficiency of our supply chains, taking advantage of scale and location, to bring additional benefits to our customers and to Scottish agriculture.

“Our expectation is to develop an annual throughput in excess of 500,000 tonnes of agricultural products, worth more than £100 million.”

Forth Ports CEO Charles Hammond said: “It’s great to have reached an agreement with Cefetra that will see us execute on another significant investment programme for a customer; reflecting our strategy of working with our customers to deliver supply chain solutions.

“The development at the Port of Rosyth reflects the port’s unrivalled logistics links as well as its excellent marine capability.

“We very much look forward to working with Cefetra, a long-standing group customer to deliver this significant development, building on our overall activity within Scotland’s agricultural sector”.

Cefetra Ltd, owned by Germany’s BayWa, is the largest agricultural trading company in Scotland with an annual turnover in excess of £800 million.

The business, headquartered in Glasgow, is active throughout the UK and Ireland, trading more than four million tonnes annually.

It dispatches between 75,000 and 85,000 tonnes of raw materials to industry every week and delivers up to 550 lorry loads per day.

Forth Ports Limited owns and operates eight commercial ports in the UK – Tilbury, Dundee, Leith, Grangemouth, Rosyth, Methil, Burntisland and Kirkcaldy.