Alexandre Rocha
São Paulo – Of the five greatest exporters in Brazil in 2003, Bunge Foods (Alimentos in Portuguese) was the one that showed the greatest foreign trade growth. The company, which was fourth in the Foreign Trade Secretariat (Secex) rank, had revenues US$ 1.939 billion in foreign trade (Secex figures), 39.48% greater than the 2002 figures, when shipping totalled US$ 1.39 billion.
The company, however, has announced greater values than those supplied by the Secex. According to the company communications director, Adalgiso Telles, Bunge Foods export totalled US$ 2.37 billion in 2003.
Bunge is an agricultural commodity export company and its results were greatly influenced by the excellent performance last year.
"Frustration with the North American harvest was decisive. Up to the middle of the year, we thought that the prices would be lower, but with the problem in the United States, commodity prices rose in the Chicago Exchange, and prices hit record highs at the end of the year. This was the main reason for the increase in revenues," stated Telles.
To this factor we must add the record Brazilian harvest of 123.2 million tonnes, including 51.5 million tons of soy. With this the country became the largest grain exporter in the world.
Another factor contributing to this increase was the competitiveness of Brazilian products. "The Brazilian producer is becoming more and more professional, using more advanced techniques, fertilizers, raw materials, and equipment. This has resulted in quality and productivity improvement, in greater harvests, and in cost reduction," informed Telles.
2004
Initially it had been forecasted that Brazilian grain production in 2004 would be 132.2 million tonnes. However, estimates are being reanalysed, as there was a drop in the soy harvest due to climate problems and due to soy rust in regions that are great producers of this leguminous plant. With this, the forecasted harvest dropped from 60 million tonnes to 55 million.
Telles, however, guarantees that company forecasts for this year are good, both in terms of harvest and in terms of competitiveness. "Despite the harvest in the United States returning to normal, Brazil has already conquered the lead in some markets, especially in Asia, and should continue to lead," he declared.
Generally speaking, the main company, and producer worry is with regard to product transport. According to the executive, the Brazilian port capacity is already at its limit. "I am not saying there is going to be a collapse, but this will probably increase the cost of products and of freight," he declared. Apart from that, he believes that the company export volume is going to grow between 20% and 25% this year.
Markets
Bunge basically exports products in the soy complex (beans, ground, and oil), sugar, and maize. According to the executive, shipping last year totalled 14.8 million tonnes, against 11.6 million in 2002.
The increased value of the products is very clear there. Although the export revenue increase was 39.48%, the growth in quantities shipped was lower, 27.6%.
The main destinations for Bunge Foods export are Europe (Germany, Spain, France, and England) and Asia. For the time being the European continent absorbs around 50% of company export and Asia is in second place. However, Telles believes that in two years Asian purchases will be greater than European. "Asia is growing very much. In recent years, there has been yearly growth of 20% in export," he pointed out.
Those responsible for this growth, as has been occurring in all foreign trade stories, are giants China and India.
Profile
Bunge is a multinational, one of two among the five largest Brazilian exporters (the other is Volkswagen), founded in 1818 in Amsterdam, Holland, as a grain trader. The company head office is currently in New York, United States, they operate in around 25 countries and, according to Telles, had revenues of US$ 22 billion worldwide in 2003.
In Brazil the company started operating in 1905. It currently has two subsidiaries in the country, Bunge Foods and Bunge Fertilizers (Fertilizantes in Portuguese). The former, apart from processing and trading grain, sells on the domestic oil, margarine, mayonnaise, and flower markets under brands Soya, Salada, Delícia, Primor, and All Day.
The latter, as the name says, produces fertilizers and ingredients for animal nutrition, and sells them under brands Serrana, Manah, Iap, and Ouro Verde.
Last year the food division, which is in fourth place in the rank of greatest exporters, had revenues of around US$ 4.09 billion, 40% greater than the figure for 2002 according to company information, and had net profit of around US$ 196.7 million, against a loss of US$ 101.8 million in 2002 (all dollar figures calculated on the March 25, 2004 exchange rate).
The fertilizer subsidiary, in turn, exports less. According to Telles, export revenues totalled around US$ 68.3 million in 2003. However, revenues totalled about US$ 2.2 billion, 45% greater than in 2002, according to company figures, and the net profit was US$ 133.5 million, against just around US$ 410,000 in 2002.
In all group revenues were around US$ 6.3 billion in Brazil in 2003, 42% more than in 2002, and had net profit of about US$ 313 million, against a loss of about US$ 113.7 million in 2002.
The company has 73 units in Brazil, including factories, port terminals, and distribution centres. The head office of the food division is in the southern state of Santa Catarina and the fertilizer unit is in the southestern state of São Paulo. The company employs 10,600 people.
Contact
Bunge Alimentos
www.bungealimentos.com.br
Bunge Fertilizantes
www.bungefertilizantes.com.br
Bunge Brasil
www.bunge.com.br
