São Paulo – Multinational corporation Cargill and sugar company Copersucar have announced this Thursday (27th) that they are merging their global sugar sale operations into a joint venture. Each of the companies will retain a 50% stake in the new, as yet nameless enterprise. As per a joint communiqué, the company will have offices in São Paulo, Miami, Dubai, Moscow, New Delhi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jakarta. The deal is pending approval from regulators, which is expected for the second half this year.
In the communiqué, Copersucar board chairman Luis Roberto Pogetti said the new company will reinforce Copersucar’s strategy of consolidating its “global presence” on the sugar market. “Copersucar is also strengthening its exclusive business model, based on large-scale supply, logistical capacity, and integration across the production chain, from manufacturers through customers,” he said in the communiqué.
According to information from Copersucar, in the 2012/2013 crop the company sold 7.8 million tonnes of sugar. Of those, 6.1 million were exported and 1.7 million went to Latin America and Brazil. Also according to the company, Copersucar retains a 10% stake in free trade of sugar worldwide, whose estimated volume is 58 million tonnes.
According to information from the Brazilian Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, last year Brazil exported the equivalent of US$ 11.8 billion in sugar, at 50.9 million tonnes. In 2012, revenues were higher, at US$ 12.8 billion, but the volume was lower: 46.2 million tonnes.
In 2013, Brazilian exports to Arab countries fetched US$ 3.5 billion and amounted to 8.2 million tonnes. Similar to exports to other countries, in 2012, revenues from exports to the Middle East and North Africa were higher than in 2013, at US$ 4.2 billion. The shipped volume was lower, at 8 million tonnes.
According to the communiqué, the new company will benefit from existing Copersucar manufacturing plants, including over 97 cane processing units, plus the logistical know-how of the two companies. The deal does not involve plants, terminals, and ethanol businesses individually owned by Cargill and Copersucar, which will continue to be managed separately by each of the companies.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
