Bunge partners with two leading agribusiness firms to build export grain terminal in the Pacific Northwest
Jun 01, 2009, St. Louis, MO — Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced that it has created a joint venture with ITOCHU and STX Pan Ocean to build and operate a state-of-the-art export grain terminal at the Port of Longview, Wash. Called EGT Development, LLC, the project will be the first export terminal built in the United States in more than two decades.
The terminal will be capable of handling grain, oilseeds and protein meals. It features a rail loop track unloading system capable of holding four 110-car unit trains at any given time. The facility will include a highly efficient shuttle train unloading system as well as the capability to unload barges from the Columbia River. When it is fully operational, the facility will be able to handle more than eight million metric tons annually.
“The Pacific Northwest is already the second largest export corridor in North America but additional capacity will be needed to meet the growing demand for agricultural products in Asia,” said Carl Hausmann, Bunge North America president and CEO. “All three partners currently ship to the Pacific Rim and this facility will be well-positioned to create a more direct and stable supply base so that we can better serve our operations and customers in Asia.”
ITOCHU is the second largest marketer of grain and food products in Japan, and STX Pan Ocean is one of the world’s leading shipping companies of agricultural products. Bunge has oilseed processing assets in China, an ownership stake in the Phu My port in Vietnam and is a significant seller into the Asian market. Bunge is the majority partner in the project.
“We certainly appreciate the support we have received from civic leaders in Longview and we look forward to being a good corporate citizen in the community. The grain terminal will not only create about 50 good jobs, but will provide about $2 million in tax revenue to support local governments and schools,” said Bailey Ragan, vice president and general manager, Bunge Grain. “The facility will be supplied by agricultural production from Washington State as well as other locations in the Northwest, the Midwest and Western Canada.”
Construction will begin this month with the facility accepting product for the Fall 2011 harvest.
About Bunge North America
Bunge North America (www.bungenorthamerica.com), the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the livestock, poultry, food processor, foodservice and bakery industries. With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and corn dry mills in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
About Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited (www.Bunge.com, NYSE: BG) is a leading global agribusiness and food company founded in 1818 and headquartered in White Plains, New York. Bunge’s over 25,000 employees in over 30 countries enhance lives by improving the global agribusiness and food production chain. The company supplies fertilizer to farmers in South America, originates, transports and processes oilseeds, grains and other agricultural commodities worldwide, produces food products for commercial customers and consumers and supplies raw materials and services to the biofuels industry.
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This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words including “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, industry conditions, including fluctuations in supply, demand and prices for agricultural commodities and other raw materials and products used in our business, fluctuations in energy and freight costs and competitive developments in our industries; the effects of weather conditions and the outbreak of crop and animal disease on our business; global and regional agricultural, economic, financial and commodities market, political, social and health conditions; the outcome of pending regulatory and legal proceedings; our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, dispositions, joint ventures and strategic alliances; changes in government policies, laws and regulations affecting our business, including agricultural and trade policies, tax regulations and biofuels legislation; and other factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.