UPDATE 2-US grain terminals resuming loadings after Gustav

(Recasts first paragraph; updates with Cargill facilities still without power)

By Lisa Shumaker

CHICAGO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Electricity was restored on Thursday to the first of 11 major grain terminals at the Mississippi Gulf that have been idle for nearly a week as the New Orleans area recovers from Hurricane Gustav.

Oilseed and corn processor Bunge Ltd (BG.N) said its export elevator at Destrehan, Louisiana, resumed operations on Thursday and was loading grain onto a vessel.

Grain traders said they believed it to be the first terminal at the Mississippi Gulf to have power restored.

Shipping operations are returning to normal slowly after a Category 2 Hurricane made landfall on Monday.

Both the Mississippi River, the most heavily used U.S. waterway, and the Port of New Orleans reopened late Wednesday. [ID:nN04391942]

Bunge's facility is one of the largest at the Mississippi Gulf with a storage capacity of 6.2 million bushels (157,500 tonnes) and a daily loading capacity of 80,000 bushels (2,000 tonnes), according to a 2003 report by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration. [ID:nN28346979]

Grain elevators in the Mississippi Gulf shipped more than 56 million tonnes of grain last year, making it the busiest U.S. location for shipments of corn, soybeans and wheat.

CHS Inc (CHSCP.O) said its terminal at Belle Chasse remained without power.

Cargill Inc [CARG.UL] said all its facilities were without power but suffered no major damage.

Cargill has grain terminals at Reserve and Westwego in Louisiana. Cargill also operates the Port of Baton Rouge Grain Elevator at Port Allen.

No information was immediately available from Archer Daniel Midland Co (ADM.N), which has four facilities in the region. However, the company has previously said that its terminals sustained no major damage. (Reporting by Lisa Shumaker)