The grain export terminal at Longview, Wash., gives Northwest grain growers an edge in marketing their crop, a representative of the company that built the $200 million complex says.

The Pacific Northwest is the second-largest export corridor behind the Gulf of Mexico. Cresswell said the region can load Asia-bound vessels fuller than gulf ports because of depth restrictions on the Panama Canal.

“Not only are we closer to China, Japan and parts of Asia, we can load vessels deeper,” he said, noting there’s also a competitive advantage to key markets on the west coast of South America.

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