Cargill Plans Corn Processing Plant in Brazil

SÃO PAULO, BrazilCargill announced plans to build a new corn processing plant in Brazil to produce starches and sweeteners. The company will invest R$350 million in the plant, which is expected to add some 30 percent to Cargills existing corn-crushing capacity in South America. The new plant may also have a line dedicated to new corn-based ingredients, some that had previously not been available in the Brazilian market.

"The partnership with our customers and rising domestic demand were key aspects that drove our investment. Cargills global leadership team sees with great optimism the growth of business in Brazil," says Gonzalo Petschen, leader of the company´s South America Starches and Sweeteners business.

The new facilities will be based in one of three Brazilian states under consideration. A decision on location is expected in the first quarter of this year, with the plant scheduled to start operating in 2013.

In March 2010, Cargill completed the expansion of a starches and sweeteners plant in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, by 70 percent. The expansion of the Uberlândia facilities represented an investment of R$197 million, which also included a new boiler to produce clean electric energy from biomass that supplies 70 percent of local energy needs.